2024 – The year of elections or perhaps the ultimate year of elections as some are calling it. Over 60 countries will head into general elections this year. The domestic atmosphere will be charged with energy, streets buzz with new promises and slogans and millions spent on lavish election campaigns. However, the political atmosphere in a country of 230 million seems unusually quiet and eerie. As the media reports try to stir some election fever in the people of Pakistan, a report by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) on the lack of political parties’ interest or attention to their manifestos has started to gain popularity in the media channels. Pakistan’s election manifestos are being subject to criticism by a handful of experts who raise concerns about the effectiveness and feasibility of their proposed solutions. One of the major criticisms of Pakistani election manifestos is the lack of specificity and detail. While political parties may outline their vision and general policy goals, they often fail to provide a clear roadmap for implementation. This lack of concrete plans leaves voters sceptical and doubtful about the party’s ability to fulfil its promises once in power. Furthermore, the manifestos tend to focus on short-term goals and fail to address long-term challenges facing the country. For instance, manifestos often lack comprehensive strategies to revive the economy, reduce poverty, improve governance, and address social issues. Another criticism of Pakistani election manifestos is the lack of accountability. I have always advocated that we must teach our people how to catch fish. What is most shocking are the statistics that reveal that across 17 major indicators studied by the experts, the manifesto scorecards reflected a meagre 20 per cent indicating that the political parties are only well aware of about 20 per cent of the key economic challenges. These low scores highlight the need for political parties to invest more time and resources into understanding and addressing the key economic challenges faced by the country. The key indicators studied include Local Government, Parliament, Elections, Cabinet, Police, Bureaucracy, Budget Making, Debt Management, PSDP, Real Estate, Agriculture, Energy, Taxation, Tariff, Trade, Internet, Cities reforms and SOEs. The political parties are not engaging with diverse stakeholders, including experts, civil society organizations, and the public, during the manifesto drafting process to ensure that diverse perspectives and expertise are considered, leading to a more comprehensive and effective blueprint of potential policies. We will attempt to present a solution to the key indicators mentioned in the PIDE study to draw the government’s attention to what must be done and how rather than simply making vague promises in their manifestos. Clubbing the indicators together to form a comprehensive action plan should make for an effective way to address the challenges. Firstly, we shall target the Government Structure Reformation, including local government, cabinet, parliament, bureaucracy and budget making. Despite a similar structure and constitutional background as neighbouring India, Pakistan does not enjoy the status of a democracy it is rather a centralised federation. The 18th Amendment and devolution of power to the provinces was a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to empower local governments and ensure their effective functioning. The large size of cabinets is also a concerning issue that hinders decision-making and efficiency. Pakistan’s cabinet size should not exceed more than 35 members with key strategic ministries clubbed and governed by a group of technocrats who are accomplished in their fields relevant to the ministries similar to that of China. Also, the local governance system needs to be strengthened through capacity-building programs and increased autonomy in decision-making. The provinces should be autonomous in their decision making however, they need to be held accountable for every penny allotted to them and their performance in delivering public services. At the end of a financial year, unspent amounts must be returned to the federation to ensure transparency and proper utilization of funds. Pakistan’s governance model is plagued by bureaucracy that is a puppet at the hands of powerful politicians. We need to follow in the footsteps of Singapore which achieved much of its success by operating as a technocratic authoritarian regime. Today Singapore enjoys the first rank in the government effectiveness index due to its quality of public services, the quality of the civil service and the degree of its independence from political pressures, the quality of policy formulation and implementation, and the credibility of the government’s commitment to such policies. I believe that is the route that the government must take. Effective Industrial reforms must be the second focus of the government accumulating IT, agriculture, energy, SMEs and SOEs. However, these need to be further expanded to ensure technology transfer, collaborations and domestic economic well-being. Pakistan needs to develop a transparent model of financing local businesses through an IT & agriculture SME revolution. The government must take responsibility for expanding the international outreach of local businesses and products. Simultaneously, public-private partnerships must be encouraged to reduce the heavy government footprint in the SOEs. I have always advocated that we must teach our people how to catch fish. Hence I strongly recommend improving economic activity, supporting local businesses and reducing the reliance of people on PSDP. Lastly, the 3 Ts – Taxation, Tariffs and Trade. Since Pakistan does not have much room in its taxation domain other than following IMF’s instructions to the T, we need to find creative ways to increase the tax net. Unfortunately, the already heavily taxed salaried class of society will have to bear the major burden here. However, Trade must be sharply targeted. Now is the time to focus on the industrial zones and boost trade. I think a tax holiday of 10 years is an inevitable step that the future government must ensure to attract FDIs, promote industry and boost trade. Pakistan’s tariff policy also needs to complement efforts in its industrial zones. To conclude in a country where manifestos have only been lip service, there’s a need to become the public’s first ammunition for accountability against the parties they vote for. Also, for political parties, these must be the finest blueprint of their economic policies with actionable items and specific policy measures. For civil institutions like the judiciary, manifestos must be the white papers or references of articles 62 and 63 of a political party and should be admissible to courts when deciding on a political party’s future. Hence these mindlessly filled papers must be more than manifestos. The writer is Foreign Research Associate, Centre of Excellence, China Pakistan Economic Corridor, Islamabad.