Failure of the welfare system

Letter July 06, 2020
The irony is that such flawed systems has been persisting since many years under different guises

After careful analysis of the government’s actions, one can easily infer that all levels of government have failed at working for the rights of the people. Recently the Punjab government issued a price list of various essential items to ensure their availability at reasonable prices. The idea sounds great but it was nothing more than a farce due to the lack of proper implementation.

The irony is that such flawed systems has been persisting since many years under different guises. Back in early 80’s, the local governments in the country introduced the ‘khidmat committee’ system to control prices. The initiative failed miserably to achieve its task. Furthermore, like all major cities, Rawalpindi has also been facing acute water shortages since the 80’s. The mayor at the time pledged to provide the city with water from the Khanpur dam, but the hollow promise never amounted to much. Even the democratic government that sprang from the general elections back then failed to fulfill the wishes of public. This cycle goes on, while citizens helplessly witness the transitions from democracy to dictatorships and then back to democracy. Today the situation is such that negligence prevails all throughout the local and federal governments as officials from the mayor all the way down to the office clerk are not able to effectively manage their affairs.

Despite much instability, the one thing that does seem consistent is the inability of our systems to work for welfare of people whose misery tends to worsen by the day. The claims of our leaders be it elected, selected, or imposed are mere slogans to befool people for selfish purposes of holding onto power.

Raja Shafaatullah

Islamabad

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2, 2020.

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