Daily Times

Employers, at least, are a little dumfounded because now that they are done thanking the government and state bank for offering relief packages to save jobs, there is so far zero implementation of any of the directives. Talking at a press conference, the chairman of the Pakistan Industrial Traders Association Front (PIAF) Mian Nauman Kabir said that not a single branch of any bank in Lahore was offering any loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP’s) instructions to avoid layoffs. Most likely the matter became just another victim of procedural delays, and help is on the way, but surely it helps nobody if the government and the central bank stay mum as employers sweat it out and ordinary people start losing jobs. It would not do too many people much good if the right thing is done a little too late.

Hopefully the government, or the central bank, will not need much reminding of how quickly this pandemic is decimating entire economies. It has caused havoc in countries far more advanced than Pakistan. And if we hadn’t been just pure lucky that the virus has not claimed too many lives here, Pakistan’s economy not to mention the medical system could well have completely collapsed by now. Most people employed by SMEs, especially workers that do much of the ground work, are not too far from the poverty line in the best days. To delay their salaries, especially after promising to take care of things for a while, risks not just disappointing a few workers but also pushing the poverty rate to a point that it would become unaffordable for the government itself.

This administration seems to take its sweet time understanding that it’s one thing for the governor of the state bank or even the prime minister to make inspiring speeches and sign on the dotted line, but it takes yet more commitment to actually deliver the goods, so to speak, and all this also falls under the burden of command. It’s not as if the government can blame such oversights on the opposition too, as usual, and not worry at all about the outcome. These are desperate times, and working class people need to be protected. It’s good that the government has good ideas about surviving the immediate term despite the economic restraints. But good ideas, appreciated as they are, amount for precious little if they are not carried out properly. And the sooner the PTI government understands this the better. *