The government has injected Rs 21 billion into Pakistan Steel Mills, but it is still facing a financial crisis. As long as this government appoints individuals of mediocre capability, or men with a history of financial wrongdoings, it can waste the tax-payers scarce resources without any benefit to these organisations.
It is these controversial appointments and their rampant corruption which is the cause of problems and not the lack of potential revenues that plague organisations like PIA, Railways, Pakistan Steel Mills, PIA Investments, OGRA, PSO, NICL, State Life, PASSCO, CDA, NBP etc.
Railways with its immense potential for cargo freight trains has been systematically deprived of this potential and its vast expensive real estate properties located all over the country plundered by successive regimes. PIA, the airline with a monopoly over passenger and cargo traffic is going in the red, in spite of its above average load factors. Pakistan Steel Mills with its unutilised capacity and immense local demand has been systematically robbed by few influential persons. In spite of their failures and tainted track records, some of these executives in national airline marketing, executives of CDA, PIA Investments, NBP, KPT, OGRA, PASSCO have been given extensions.
The state can inject several more billions in bailout packages, but it will not serve any purpose unless qualified men or women with integrity are appointed.
J AKHTAR
Islamabad
