Figures don’t fill bellies

Actual economic progress can

Among the foremost factors that will determine the rating of the PML-N government is its management of the economy. If the steps taken by the government create a sense of well-being among the common man, it will pass the test. No reiteration of ‘facts and figures’, no media propaganda and no public posturing will convince the man in the street if he does not think he is better off today than yesterday. The barrage of propaganda launched by Ayub Khan in the name of “Decade of Progress” could not stop the anti-Ayub wave that began in 1968 and led to his ouster. More recently the campaign built by the Musharraf regime on the basis of the number of cars and motorcycles on the streets, the spread of mobile phones, the foreign investment and the rise in the GDP collapsed like a house of cards. The ‘facts and figures’ may deceive the dyed-in-the wool supporters but not the jobless millions sliding down the poverty line.

The decline of the rupee has had direct impact on the common man’s life in the form of inflation. The prices of essential commodities have almost tripled over the last few years and the trend continues. On Saturday, the Finance Minister called upon the business community to encash their dollars telling them that the rupee was going to bounce back. But economic realities cannot be changed through sermons. Unless he can first revive the business community’s confidence in the currency which has weakened with the depletion of the forex reserves, there is little hope of an end to the ongoing dollarization.

Meanwhile, talking to a group of PML-N legislators the prime minister has revealed that the GDP growth has increased from the abysmal 3.7 pc in 2012 to 5.1pc. The annual report of the State Bank of Pakistan released at the end of January this year had maintained that in FY 2013 there was a likelihood of the growth rate remaining fixed at 3.7 pc. There is little to support the claim of the growth suddenly rising as there is little foreign investment while power and gas shortages continue to hamper production by the existing industrial units. Inflation is tolerable if it remains within limits and is accompanied by a visible growth in jobs. A jobless growth will fail to create a sense of well-being among the people.