PIA must not be reduced to a welfare job provider to political cronies and unqualified children of the ruling elite
SUKKUR: PIA needs to be restored as a profitable commercial organisation dedicated to serving passengers, instead of being reduced to a welfare job provider to political cronies and unqualified children of the ruling elite and employees with clout. The airline cannot continue to be a white elephant and burden taxpayers. Employees in violation of merit qualifications and ghost employees involved in corruption, smuggling and pilferage should be sacked as per rules. Even when PIA’s serviceable fleet was reduced to fewer than 18 aircraft in 2013, there was no end to recruitment while losses peaked at an all-time high.
The vested interests of successive rulers and their choice of men at the helm of PIA and the CAA from 2005 onwards have served to give the lion’s share of routes to Gulf-based airlines and in 2016, PIA carried only 24 per cent of international passenger traffic originating from Pakistan.
The manner in which cartels were allowed to be formed by a few travel agents created artificial shortages leading to such irregularities as fleecing of pilgrims for Umrah and Hajj. Procurement contracts for supply of technical spare parts and flight kitchen ended up being given to vendors of ill-repute or companies owned by family members of powerful employees and executives. Employees with a criminal record and history of financial indiscipline were promoted. Political interference and cronyism seem to be a compulsion of every government that considers state-owned corporations as spoils of war, not national assets. Why should every government insist on posting their cronies in the US, the UK, the UAE, Paris and Jeddah, and blame others when revenues decline?
Aneela Chandio
Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2016.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
