Daily Times

The government formed a committee to devise austerity measures to cut official expenditure for controlling the fiscal debt. The 10-member committee will look into various government organisations where the expenses could be reduced. Those who think the government is considering austerity measures in public interest, they’re mistaken. It’s one of the IMF preconditions for granting a loan.

Although one may welcome the government decision to take austerity measures, one must question which segments of society live like lords on government expense? Certainly not those who live from hand to mouth. The bureaucracies of all shades and public sector organisations are mainly responsible for guzzling foreign loans and tax money of the taxpayers. Establishing new departments and so-called authorities, Bhang (Marijuana) Authority being one such, in the name of public welfare is a common practice. At a time like this, Dr Kaiser Bengali’s statement always comes to mind that at least fifteen divisions of the federal government if not twenty could be disbanded without hampering the official work. Does the government have the nerve to do it is a big question.

Essentially there’re two classes in the country: the rulers and the ruled. To illustrate the point, I quote a recent experience of a relative who visited upcountry Naran, Hunza and Nagar by road. Driving herself all the way, she was surprised to notice that most of the vehicles on the roads were SUVs displaying official registration plates with tinted windows. The vehicles carried families inside and gunmen at the back. In some cases, families travelled in SUVs and security guards followed in double cabins. Who would foot the skyrocketing fuel bills other than the public exchequer, not to mention the misuse of government vehicles? The bureaucrats of rich countries that give loans to poor nations would envy the style maintained by the ruling gentry of this country that begs for foreign loans to sustain itself.

The bureaucracies of all shades are mainly responsible for guzzling foreign loans and tax money.

For instance, what impression would the representatives of the donor organisations get when they visit Pakistan for negotiations and observe the palatial buildings like the Presidency, PM House and the Governor Houses in the four provinces? The donors would rightly wonder whether the rulers living in these palaces deserved loans for their country. The donors would be even more surprised if they happened to see the security protocols of the VIPs and the VVIPs. Who are the ruling elite afraid of in their own country, they might ask among themselves.

Now the government in its austerity measures has decided to “…slash petrol usage of ministers’ vehicles by 40pc and of security vehicles of cabinet members by 50pc, and expenses of VVIP cavalcades without compromising on security.” It means the VVIP cavalcades were much larger than required for security.

What’s presently happening in Sri Lanka is indeed scary. Enraged and hungry people attacking and occupying the presidential palace is no laughing matter. The beleaguered president had to flee to take refuge in Singapore. Reportedly, the colonial-era President Palace is a sign of government authority and power. In comparison, we have one palace too many. Sri Lankan population is only 22 million; ours is about 230 million. The Sri Lankans massed against the government to protest because they were better educated; our poor consider their poverty and hunger as preordained from above and remain content than to protest violently against their deprivation. But there’s a limit to their patience, which must not be tested.

The IMF, which the ordinary people consider a ruthless monster, could do the taxpayers and poor of this country a favour. It may lay down a strict condition that the governments now and in future desist from raising huge buildings in the name of development. For instance, the multi-story NADRA office building in Jauhar Town is designed for central air-conditioning when the country faces a huge power shortfall.

Similarly, Punjab Agriculture, Food and Drug Authority (PAFDA) Complex coming up next to NAB office in Lahore is another white elephant under construction for years now. Such construction projects are conceived and built not as much in public interest as in the interest of politicians and officials who sign construction contracts and those who supervise the construction work.

Another condition the foreign fund could put down is to compel the government to get rid of all loss-making organisations in the public sector. Pak Steel Mills and PIA, the so-called national flag carrier, must be the top contenders for the chopping block – privatisation. Imagine, PSM was shut down in 2015 but its employees have been getting their salaries amounting to hundreds of millions every month. What austerity!

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