Development fostering disharmony

The people of Balochistan live in fear of being outnumbered in their own land

Balochistan is by far the least developed province of Pakistan. Paradoxically, the province also has a fear of development projects, especially the mega types. The reasons are now well-known. With a literacy rate of 43 per cent, net primary enrolment of 39 per cent and net matriculation enrolment rate of just five per cent, the educational base needed for its youth to take up job opportunities requiring skilled workers, which are created by mega development projects, does not exist. The officially estimated rate of unemployment in the age group of 20-24 years is 10.4 per cent. Naturally, as in the past, these jobs and the business opportunities will attract migrants from other provinces. Comprising almost half of Pakistan’s territory but only around five per cent of its population, the locals live in fear of being outnumbered in their own land. There is already a delicate Baloch-Pakhtun balance in the province.

In this background, a news report published in this paper on February 6, 2016 contained the welcome news that the Gwadar Port Authority is planning a vocational training institute to impart port and free zone-related training to local people. The story took this writer down memory lane. In the aftermath of the coup by General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, the economy was a mess and the country isolated — a state of affairs that is enough to bring our aid-addicted establishment to its wit’s end. Until, of course, it finds the next shot in the arm, which it did soon in the form of our all-weather friend, China. Premier Wu Bangguo inaugurated the construction of Gwadar port in March 2002. At the time of clearance of the project by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP), this writer proposed the setting up of an institute to train the locals in port-related skills to enable them to provide the manpower needed during and after the construction of the port. The rest is history. The proposal was not even minuted, let alone projectised. Then Uncle Sam returned post-9/11. The port was handed over to Singapore.



Though quite late, the rebirth of the idea of the institute is a step in the right direction. However, ideas need money to yield any result. I followed the trail, but found nothing to write home about. The project was included in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) of 2014-15 as a CPEC project. A total cost of Rs1 billion was indicated without any break-up of rupee and foreign funding. As the project had not been formally approved yet, the numbers were notional anyway.

Political expediency or urgency dictates the inclusion of unapproved projects in the PSDP. Subsequently, the CDWP approval was granted on October 19, 2014 at a reduced cost of Rs984 million. No funds were released in this regard in 2014-15. In the PSDP for 2015-16, the project has again been included at the same total cost, but also included Chinese assistance of Rs836.4 million. Now the Planning Commission website shows the “Technical and Vocational Institute at Gwadar” as a CPEC project at an estimated cost of $10 million. Details of releases as of February 4, 2016 do not show any funds released for the project. True, the Planning Commission gives information on the rupee component only. Disbursement against budget estimates of foreign economic assistance is the responsibility of the Economic Affairs Division (EAD). The EAD has not made any disbursement so far. As a matter of fact, the EAD’s list of budgeted foreign-assisted projects does not include the training institute at Gwadar. So far, only the Gwadar Port Authority has spent a princely sum of Rs1 million on a project that has the potential to unite rather than divide.

With plans like these, development cannot but foster disharmony.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2016.

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