It is a foregone conclusion that the incumbent coalitions only success so far comes in the realm of scaling new heights in lawlessness, ab\negation of governance, unsurpassed corruption at all tiers of the executive and the legislature, non-compliance of judicial injunctions and an unabashed affront to every initiative to introduce the rule of law. The tragedy is that the PPP leadership seems determined to perpetuating its approach that is laden with the elixir of failure. The faulty bid to introduce the Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST), the rampant corruption unearthed in the Hajj arrangements where the sitting minister has been dubbed as the principal accused by none other than a cabinet colleague and the Reko Diq saga that becomes gloomier by the day are only some of the recent instances that make for a gory tale of self-destruction.
In an environment where the struggle to survive is the key issue for most of the people, the ruling elite remains determined to ensure for itself a special piece of the pie. They remain completely insensitive to the fact that soon, on account of the extent and pace at which the country is being denuded of its resources, there may be nothing left for anyone. It has already been rendered a captive in the hands of the international donor agencies who, before releasing a tranche, issue instructions to comply with a new set of terms. RGST is one such example. What makes matters worse is that, in spite of being only a partner in a coalition government, the PPP leadership is determined to running it wholly on its own volition and whims. Be it the case of making nominations to the Parliamentary Committee or taking advance input about the proposed RGST, there is no ground work done. The familiar resort to last-minute incentives (read bribes!) offered like the ERRA chairmanship to a PML(Q) legislator and the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) chairmanship to a JUI(F) MNA are extremely crude examples of political manipulation. Consequently, even its coalition partners have refused to extend support to the PPP leadership to facilitate the approval of the proposed legislation by the parliament.
This sequence of episodes further precipitates the crisis with regard to the manner of governance in the country where the edifice stands on the shaky foundations of incompetence, nepotism, corruption and an ingrained lack of legitimacy. People may have voted for electing their representatives a phenomenon that is repeatedly cited as a token of confidence in the ruling hierarchy but that hardly compensates for the inherent inadequacies relating to the economic captivity and a palpable paucity of alternatives for the electorate. A tinge of legitimacy could have been garnered by systematically promoting a culture of consultative governance where all stakeholders would have felt duly involved. That was not to be as even the coalition partners have been repeatedly left out of the loop of the decision making process.
The PPP leadership does not tire of making claims of promoting politics of consensus in tackling numerous challenges, but their approach remains completely devoid of even the most basic consultation. The decisions are taken in the presidency and it is expected that every stakeholder would extend agreement. The foolhardy aggression and a palpable lack of rational thought process that epitomise the partys critical decision making process are ingrained with serious deficiencies causing acute embarrassment in the past. The regimen continues to dominate the ruling mindset with little to no prospect of a change in the offing. What they forget is that, along with the political leadership, the system that they represent is under the microscope. With a 30% voter turnout at the best, the elections have never quite represented the cumulative will of a majority of the people. The bulk of the people have repeatedly shown a lack of interest in the process of electioneering that provides the crucial base for the existing system. They could have been attracted to the booths through optimal performance geared at bringing the much-desired economic relief to a majority of them. The governments policies and actions have only fuelled the opposite where people have been subjected to languishing under unprecedented economic hardships, severe law and order situation where their lives are constantly threatened, and an absence of transparency in governance where opportunities are being doled out to the less deserving, but more favoured. Cases are heard to perpetuity with generations lost waiting for justice to be done.
In the absence of an ideological divide, the entire system has fallen prey to the politics of convenience and compromise. For it to become acceptable across a broader spectrum of the electorate there has to be a resurgence of ideas and principles. Not only that there appears to be no realisation at this juncture, there is little prospect of it happening in the foreseeable future as parties on either side seem determined to stretching the existing aberration because they remain its principal beneficiaries. This is in contravention of the cardinal principle of a representative government being a credible means to delivering on peoples hopes and aspirations. Unless that happens, well remain adrift turbulent waters.
The writer is a media consultant to the Chief Minister, Punjab.
