To the dismay of taxpayers, there is no sign of improvement in PIA and PSM.
ISLAMABAD: Successive governments have been doling out huge amounts to the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), PIA and the railways to keep these white elephants afloat. To the dismay of taxpayers, there is no sign of improvement in these organisations, and it would appear that corporations such as these are but a veritable black hole. Amazingly, there has to be some kind of planning behind throwing all this taxpayers’ money at these public sector corporations. In his national address, the prime minister narrated a woeful picture and informed that as much as Rs500 billion had been given to these constantly-failing entities. However, he failed to say how exactly he would stop this flow of hard-earned taxpayers’ money to these bodies.
As a taxpayer, I have the right to ask that for how long will I and other taxpayers fund these white elephants. There is enough talent and expertise available in the country to stop the rot and one sensible option could be privatisation. Bold decisions in the overall national interest must not be avoided under the pressure of an entrenched corrupt political system. For example, how come the PSM made a profit under the stewardship of Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qayyum and Col (retd) Afzal?
Mustahsan Ali Tirmizi
Published in The Express Tribune, September 2nd, 2013.
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