The dam case

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has been activated once again, and this time, it is the former Wapda chairman mobilising the watchdog against a former finance minister. Money being the main topic of discussion, the PAC is questioning why two billion rupees of public funds were reserved in a private account during the PPP’s tenure instead of being spent on the Naulong Dam. The project, quite embarrassingly, has been delayed for 10 years but such lethargy was expected from our officials. Even so, it is refreshing to observe the PAC investigate where the public funds disappeared and we hope the case is aggressively pursued.

Politicians are all about monopolising ‘get-rich quick’ schemes. In this case, it was ignored that the withholding of two billion rupees of public money resulted in an annual loss of Rs15 billion. That this was achieved by a former finance minister questions the credibility and intelligence of the people we put into power. This is why we have circuses every time politicians and bureaucrats sit down to discuss the business of the state. The number of schemes and projects is now more than 1,000, indicative of haphazard planning.

As intriguing as the row between the former finance minister and the former Wapda chairman is, the crux of the matter should not be lost, which is the construction of a dam for which funds had been allocated has been delayed to the extent of costing 15 billion rupees. Regardless of the opinions of those who oppose the construction of the dam, the exorbitant costs have to be considered.

It is euphoric to expect the bureaucracy and politicians to work in unison but if this became the case — and not through a situation where bureaucrats were ‘bought out’ by the latter — significant advancements by the nation could be made. Routinely, however, officials choose to entangle themselves in meaningless battles and like always, the country’s development slows.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th, 2017.

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