If you dont forget the past you are condemned to repeat it. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani sounded more like an opposition leader when he admitted before the plenary session of the Pakistan Development Forum early last week that corruption and lack of governance are the two major problems bedevilling the country at present. Coming from him as it did, the observation is a virtual no-confidence against his own government which has completed half of its term in office.
The problems he referred to persist not because they are there but because his government has been consistent in doing things in the least transparent manner. Although it has some great achievements to its credit like winning a decisive battle against extremists in Swat, mitigating the sense of deprivation among the Baloch by announcing a development package for the long-neglected province, granting Gilgit-Baltistan the status of a province and, last but not the least, evolving consensus among all political parties on the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the good work done by this government somehow remains overshadowed by its you-name-it-we-sell-it image.
It is this trust deficit caused by bad governance and lack of transparency that restrained the world from providing the kind of help the country needed after being devastated by the worst floods of its history. And it still prevails. Despite Mr Gilanis impassioned appeal to the international community for consistent support to meet the long-term challenges of flood reconstruction as well as institutional and structural reforms for a glorious tomorrow, the two-day moot could not draw more than $1.4 billion in donations. It included $ 900 million worth soft loans by Japan and Saudi Arabia while the rest of the half a billion pledged by the United States were to be taken out of the Kerry-Lugar assistance of $7.5 billion to be paid over five years.
This is in no way encouraging for the country which is playing the role of a frontline state in the ongoing war on terror that shows no sign of abating.
This all was accompanied by a tough lecturing by the representatives of foreign governments and international financial institutions who attended the PDF. President Obamas special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke called upon the donors to assist Pakistan with cash compensation for flood victims. The catchphrase was: We will show to the American taxpayers that Pakistans wealthy also pay taxes. The participants were of the view that self-reliance would remain elusive until Pakistan attained a seven percent growth rate and raised its tax-to-GDP ratio which being 10 percent was lowest in the world. The message emanating from the conference was the donors concern about official patronage of corruption in Pakistan.
It might have answered Minister of State for Finance Hina Rabbani Khars objection to the bilateral and multilateral creditors bringing into question the governments transparency while extending the aid money to what she called non-state actors than a more effective Pakistani state. She genuinely considers it an insult to the government she represents when it is not being trusted by the international community. But if today the governments credibility is at the lowest ebb it has only itself to blame. It cannot find too many takers for its view that transparency remains the hallmark of the current democratic dispensation when those in authority keep rewarding the corrupt cronies with lucrative positions.
The government doesnt tire of claiming its respect for the judiciary but the way it is conducting itself shows that it has a firm belief that it is beholden to nobody and nothing. There have been instances when a person dismissed from a public sector organisation by the court on charges of corruption was appointed head of another corporation.
The nation has a reason to grudge the ruling leadership which lacks the will to tackle corruption and still wants the poor and the downtrodden to bear the burden of its ostentatious lifestyle.
The PM needs to understand that knee-jerk reactions to the assessment of the international agencies about corruption becoming rampant on his watch would hardly change the worldview unless the government puts its act together to eradicate the scourge. The sooner the PPP leadership comes out of the delusion that everything is hunky-dory, the better it would be for the country as well as it own political survival. It doesnt have to worry about the political cost it might have to bear by carrying out the much needed reforms provided it decides to lead by example. There is a need for a paradigm shift. Its time to do away with the practice of patronising corruption. Lessons must be learnt from the past mistakes that had led to the unceremonious dismissal of five elected governments in quick succession. The objective should not only be to bring about a significant change in the level of living standards of the people at large, but also to ensure a progressive reduction in social inequities.
The writer is Executive Editor, Pakistan Today.
