Enticing the voter

In the run-up to the next elections, government officials appear to be engaged in their usual busy work in attempts to impress potential voters and claim the throne again for a new term. This is evidenced by a recently released report informing us that all allocated funds have been disbursed as originally planned for special development projects that were identified by parliamentarians. The projects included the improvement of smaller communities through the establishment of sewerage systems, road networks, and water supply. While on the macro-scale, development is visible, the majority of communities remain the same or worse than before. In the course of the past few years of PML-N rule, some road networks have worsened, for example, and improvement is mostly visible only on the tracks taken by VIPs in the cities. Other projects, such as energy and the availability of potable water, remain untouched. There is a clear political agenda visible from the injection of money into development projects. The generous budgeting has everything to do with the 2018 election and less to do with the goals of development, some of which have been completely ignored while others fully funded. Greater transparency about where funds go is required; citizens need to know about the utility of the spending and whether certain projects would be worthwhile.

Profligate spending is no stranger to government authorities. Whether it is shamelessly driving around expensive SUVs on narrow roads through impoverished areas, hosting lavish weddings for their already well-fed guests, or wasting public funds for projects that would benefit their own, governments are known to be irresponsible with public money. In order to change the system that has left people generally dissatisfied for decades, citizens should be allowed to vote which projects get funded with public money in the future. The Public Sector Development Programme’s core development sectors, especially infrastructure and social development, require a lot more attention and would automatically help solve other problems. Common sense does not come by easy.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22^nd, 2017.

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