Daily Times

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s decision of setting up a National Economic Advisory Council on his first day in office as a premier clearly indicates his sense of priority. The economy comes first, especially for a country that’s neck-deep in loans. National borrowing during the PTI rule touched new heights. As the stats go, in 2018 when the PTI took over, every individual irrespective of age and gender shared the loan burden of Rs1,44, 000. Within the stretch of nearly four years of PTI rule, the burden of the loan per person shot up to about Rs2,50,000. The new government faces the most depressing economic situation.

The existing rupee-dollar parity speaks a lot about our sinking economy. The coalition government with its uncertain status of duration is not in a position to take tough and unpopular decisions to put the economy on the right track.

Reportedly, the budget shortfall remains around Rs4000 billion that according to eminent economist Dr Kaiser Bengali must be reduced by 10 per cent, which means Rs400 billion. Such a drastic reduction is a tall order for a country addicted to foreign loans. Instead of rejuvenating the indigenous resources to promote industrial production of exportable goods enabling the country to stand on its own feet, carrying begging bowls for loans seems an easy option. For instance, it beats the common sense why an agricultural country like Pakistan should import wheat to feed its population.

Moreover, the huge black hole that eats up a major portion of the country’s economic resources is the state’s multi-layered bureaucracy. The lifestyle of the senior state functionaries is enough to show why we need foreign loans. Were foreign visitors to land directly in upscale housing colonies – GORs – Bahria Towns and farmhouses, they would likely consider our country either oil-rich or floating on natural gas reserves. But the visitors must be kept away from shanty towns and villages with unhygienic drinking water and overflowing sewage.

The high-sounding titles and names of organisations might look impressive on paper but they fail to impress the people.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif is a practical person, an indefatigable doer. In the national interest and the interest of the large segment of the poor living below the poverty line, he may consider reducing the official protocols to a minimum level. The poor and people of the middle-class look at the VVIP movements that include innumerable luxury vehicles with contempt. The taxpayers imagine their taxes going up in smoke.

A mid-level judge or a bureaucrat has at least two luxury vehicles if not more. One for the Sahib and other for the family while their private cars remain covered in their spacious houses, not to forget the servants, cooks, gardeners and, of course, the security details. Salaries, perks and privileges of those in the senior cadre run into hundreds of millions. It was revealed in the senate that Governor State Bank received an Rs2.5 million salary, which was calculated to be more than Rs80,000 a day. He won’t be putting eighty signatures a day, one imagines.

In all fairness, salaries, perks and privileges of senior bureaucrats must be made public so that the taxpayers know where their tax money disappears. If the PM decides to set a personal example of austerity, the bureaucrats down the line will have no choice but to follow him. So will the ministers and advisers.

Every government that comes to power wants to revamp the bureaucracy. The PTI government in 2018 set up a Task Force to reform Civil Services. The Task Force was headed by Dr Ishrat Husain. He was named Institutional Reforms and Austerity Adviser. The high-sounding titles and names of organisations might look impressive on paper but they fail to impress the people.

We have been there before. Such task forces headed by big names, including a plethora of staff, offices and vehicles, end up achieving nothing. Established to bring austerity into the bureaucratic system they, in fact, end up adding more burdens on the public kitty.

What a joke! We have a top-heavy bureaucracy deeply entrenched with time. Dr Kaiser Bengali once said that at least 15-18 civil divisions of the federal government could be done away with, without affecting the running of the government. Tragically, the governments care little about how public money is wasted. A glaring example of it is the Pakistan Steel Mills. Despite the tall claims and lofty ideals, no government in the past could get rid of the huge loss-maker – Pakistan Steel Mills.

I prefer calling it a dinosaur in loss-making. The mill has been out of production since 2015 but its employees regularly receive salaries amounting to Rs380 million. Some respect for public money this!

The writer is a Lahore-based columnist and can be reached at pinecity@gmail.com