Needed: an independent body to execute CPEC

Transparency the need of the hour

Few would disagree with the Prime Minister that the Chinese financed $ 46b mega project would reduce poverty, bring employment and act as a game changer. What worries many, however, is the lack of transparency about the execution of the colossal infrastructure and energy projects. The secrecy that characterises the PML-N working in general has created misunderstandings between the provinces over the projects from day one. For months the government declined even to issue a map of the CPEC route treating it as a state secret. The smaller provinces attributed motives to the refusal to divulge the details. In January this forced the Chinese embassy in Islamabad to issue a statement urging political leaders to “address their differences in order to create favourable conditions” for the completion of the project.

Another problem is the failure to meet deadlines in the implementation of the project. The project is currently being overseen by a special section set up at the Prime Minister’s Office with Ahsan Iqbal’s Ministry of Planning and Development serving as the focal ministry. Keen to tout the project as one of its major achievements during the next general election the government keeps it tightly under its control even at the risk of causing delays and disputes. With the PM extending his stay in London for heart surgery and everyone close to him fully concentrated on how to help the Sharif family wriggle out of the Panama-gate, this caused more delays in the execution of the project. The involvement of various ministries too slowed down the progress.

A committee of the Senate suggested the creation of a new authority for solely overseeing the affairs of the corridor. There were reports indicating the army’s keenness for a formal role in the implementation and monitoring of the project. To promptly meet the CPEC deadlines and to make the execution transparent, there is a need for a separate CPEC Development Authority to execute the project while a bipartisan parliamentary committee may be assigned the role to monitor the Authority.