Long term plans are good, but so are medium and short term ones
Nawaz Sharif has done well to tell his ministers to deliver or face dismissal. Important PML-N leaders have made pledges during the poll campaign that now look difficult to retrieve within the promised timeframe. To maintain that these were no more than election rhetoric amounts to rubbing salt in the wounds. One hears about lot of new plans the government has up its sleeves. The Planning Commission, we are told, is to be made an independent think tank. There are unconfirmed reports about the CAA, PIA and ASF being taken out of the control of Defence Ministry and put under a separate Division headed by one of the PM’s advisers. While the government is entitled to take whatever decisions it considers useful, the common man is only interested in results. The continuous repetition of mantras like “good governance”, “transparency”, “rule of law” and “out of box solutions” will satisfy few. To maintain that the wrongs accumulated over 15 years can’t be rectified in a short period could only make people lose hope. Long term plans are good, so are medium term plans. But something solid has to be given to the people in the short term also.
Nawaz Sharif gives the looks of a man who is worried. Anyone facing the momentous issues, like he does, is bound to be strung up. He is however fortunate for he was not required to seek the help of allies demanding their pound of flesh every now and then. He has formed a cabinet of choice which has already held its first meeting. The first meeting of the NEC has also been held where a 1.155 trillion development outlay was approved for 2013-14. The NEC has increased the power sector allocation to Rs 284 billion, earmarked Rs 59 billion for new dams and set the GDP growth target at 4.4 percent. The budget will be announced today. How long it takes the measures to produce meaningful results remains to be seen.
There is meanwhile no end to public resentment over power shortages which affect the life and work of the vast majority of people. What is more, the power shortages have slowed down and in cases have altogether stopped the industrial and business activities. On Tuesday, the owners and workers of the power loom industry in Faisalabad jointly protested against prolonged load shedding that has led to a practical closure of the industry. On Wednesday again, there were violent protests in the city, the third largest in the country, against 10-14 hours long load shedding. The government has to resuscitate the economy so that the rate of inflation comes down and there are more jobs in the country. It has also to efficiently curb the incidents of terrorism. In case there is no ray of hope for the common man, plans and promises alone will not satisfy him.
