Daily Times

If we fail to plan, we plan to fail — a statement obviously not taken very seriously as far as planning for the future of this country is concerned. With leaders who are supposed to be planning for 200 million people and who constantly talk about their experienced team, stating that the planning commission should be shut down is inexcusable. They substantiate this statement by giving the ‘brilliant’ example that “Emperor Shah Jahan could never have built the Taj Mahal if the planning commission existed in his time.” This reply reflects why our institutions are becoming a laughing stock in the country. The author of this famous quote is none other than Khawaja Asif, who is the minister of water, power and defence. It is not hard to understand that with this attitude the water and power sector has had the worst performance in history causing huge damage to households, industry, investment and employment in the country. The reports coming from regulating agencies — also appointed by the same government — state that the power sector is almost in ICU where massive hemorrhaging is taking place. The auditor general’s report states that audits have found embezzlement, misappropriation and irregularities of around Rs 980 billion. This is almost one fourth of the total budget of Pakistan.

It is a planning failure, it is an implementation failure, it is a fiscal failure, it is a governance failure, it is a management failure, it is a leadership failure but, most of all, it is a mindset failure, a failure that depicts intellectual bankruptcy where severe lack of thinking has led to making the power sector a black hole drawing drowning the country into its abyss of darkness. This ministry has directly led to weakening the backbone of Pakistan economy i.e. the textile industry. Exports in September dipped 21 percent wasting the GSP Plus concessions to European markets. Circular debt, line losses, recoveries and distribution are all horror stories that have no end. Most new projects have become scandalous. Nandipur is a classic case study of Khawaja Asif’s school of thought of how not to plan. From plant size to the type of fuel to the type of management, Nandipur gives shivers to any Pakistani thinking about in whose hands our money lies. Small plant size, diesel instead of oil and a non-engineer as head of the plant are issues that smack of sheer mental retardation and pure mala fide intentions as even for a novice these mistakes are simply ludicrous. To add to this comedy of errors, the Prime Minister (PM) has ordered one more audit on Nandipur. There are already three audits, conducted by the water and power ministry, international audit firm, and the auditor general’s report as well. However, since most of these reports point fingers at the Chief Minister (CM) and the government, they have been hushed and a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) under Justice Nasir Zahid Aslam has been ordered. Wisely, he has also refused, probably fearing the fate of Justice Baqar Najfi’s report on the Model Town massacre.

Effective governance requires effective regulation. Effective regulation requires effective monitoring and evaluation. Effective monitoring requires adherence to audits and implementation on its recommendations. Regulatory bodies are primarily there to assess law enforcement and point out flaws that may become part of a plan by the government to improve performance. However, the reason for institutional decline is that these regulatory bodies have become soulless bodies that just reveal what the government allows them to reveal, as when they expose them truthfully they are put under scrutiny by the government for scrutinising them. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) is an example that has been warning of gross lack of planning and management in the power sector. From sending wrong bills to shutting down running plants and trying to run shut down plants it has highlighted governance failure. The reaction of government is to say that NEPRA is corrupt itself. The question is: if NEPRA is corrupt then that is also the government’s doing.

Under sham democracies, regulatory agencies are scripted report writers. The script has to be given by the government. Non-compliance to that script results in losing your job or life as well. The ex-National Database and Regulatory Authority (NADRA) chairman, who was doing the thumb verification of NA-118 a year back, was asked to change the script. On his refusal he was sent a termination letter. He went to the court and got himself restored but was again removed. This continued till his daughter received death threats and he resigned and moved with his family to the US. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has been used continuously for government intent. The recent pressure on PEMRA to reprimand the media for ‘tarnishing’ the Saudi government’s image is one of many examples. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) is another example of shutting up dissenters. In the recent petroleum crisis, OGRA blamed the ministry of petroleum for neglecting the monitoring reserves of oil marketing companies. Chairman Saeed Ahmad Khan was asked to resign or he would be sent on forced leave if he did not accept the blame. Eventually, he had to go. Thus, regulators become regulated by the whims and fancies of the ministers and PM.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Pakistan Medical and Dental College (PMDC) and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) are examples of institutions in name only. The ECP is another regulator of the election process that has shown how toothless it has become in an attempt to save skins and jobs. From scrutiny of electoral lists to compilation of results its performance has become a big question mark. Some choose to resign like Fakhruddin Ibrahim or Tariq Malik but for most it is a tough choice between careers and a life of harassment thereafter. Thus, simply making a regulatory body and appointing people on it is not the answer. The regulation part will only be conducted effectively if the people chosen for doing that part are capable and empowered enough to take tough decisions of going against the tide. That, unfortunately, only happens when real democracy exists, where the real checks and balances of government are conducted, where real opposition makes the government dance on its toes and where real adherence to laws and enforcement takes place. When ministers talk contemptuously about regulators and degrade planning, they act as guarantors of institutional failure and non-development. It is this state of mind than the state of regulation that needs an overhaul.

The writer is secretary information PTI Punjab, an analyst, a columnist and can be reached at andleeb.abbas1@gmail.com