The last three years have not been very good for the airline in terms of losses and mismanagement.
LAHORE: The PIA financial report ending December 31, 2010 shows the enormous losses incurred by PIA. It is the callous mindset of our governments, be they elected, or dictatorial, towards the tax payer’s money — which they waste without fear of accountability, that has been the cause behind the financial collapse of many state-owned corporations. The main culprits of the situation the PIA is in today are the successive sitting governments who have played havoc with this airline, despite the vast potential market that it has and the abundance of qualified talent that were available for recruitment. Alleged irregularities in recruitment, promotions, foreign postings and award of General Sales Agency have become a norm, and to date nobody has been held accountable in spite of the billions that have been lost. More funds will be sought and given, only to be wasted, because that seems to be the objective of those who appointed such mediocre people to run the airline.
Nepotism and cronyism have deprived PIA of vast revenues, which were pilfered through institutionalised incompetence. It was always the strong nexus between the marketing executives and a few travel agents that deprived this airline of revenues. The last three years have not been very good for the airline in terms of losses and mismanagement.
Mir Tassadaq
Published in The Express Tribune, April 15th, 2011.
