Disillusioned public: ‘Pakistani version of democracy has done nothing for the poor’

FAISALABAD:

“Social awareness is going to open a Pandora’s box for the ruling elite. The politico-social and economic structures fostered by elite are incapable of revitalising national institutions to stimulate economic growth,” Federation of Small Traders president Rana Tajammul Waheed said on Sunday.

He was talking to newsmen at a press conference.

He said small traders had supported the Pakistan Muslim League since 1976.

He said now they complained that the party had done nothing to address their grievances.

He said there had been no legislation to help small traders. He said the corporate sector had been legitimised through laws and rules.

He said expenditure on public administration had grown at a faster pace than value-added commodity-producing sectors of the economy. He said those were the “real sectors” of the economy.

He said the share of commodity producers in the GDP fell from 41 per cent in 2005-2006 to 40 per cent in 2013-14.

He said imperatives of a security state had resulted in poor prioritisation.

He said while a small group of elite thrived, the poor were pushed out of the development process.

“The poor also suffer because services are not inadequate in number and are of inferior quality,” Waheed said. He said these services often did not reach the intended beneficiaries, either owing to corruption or diversion of funds.

He said income and wealth differentials between the privileged and the indigent had widened.

“Pakistan has been a sovereign nation for 68 years but still grapples with basic issues. Citizens await benefits of democracy dividends; social welfare, justice, equity and equal access to resources and power,” he said. He said the Pakistani version of democracy has done nothing for the poor. “The current conditions of the country make it clear that there should be pressure on the government to change its agenda,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd, 2014.