A tale of performance, politics and propriety

On 5^th December 2019, the Prime Minister launched the Digital Pakistan vision amidst a lot of fanfare. Tania Aidrus, a former Google executive, took the stage and unveiled the five pillars that would usher in a new age of digital revolution. She was beaming with confidence, carrying an aura of hope and promises, and was backed by none other than Prime Minister’s most powerful aide, Mr Jehangir Tareen. Soon she would also become the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Digital Pakistan.

Yet, only a few months later, she was given an unceremonious exit. She was afforded the face-saving opportunity to resign, but behind-the-scene details of her resignation were also leaked to the media.

What really transpired that made her fall from favour? The answer can perhaps be traced in the performance, politics and propriety of Digital Pakistan initiative.

The fact remains there has been hardly any progress on any of the five pillars of Digital Pakistan. Although Tania’s ascent to power coincided with Covid-19, it was not a good enough excuse for not even having a clear action plan on turning this rather vague all-encompassing vision into concrete reality. And if that’s not enough, Digital Pakistan Foundation, her brainchild, does not have a functional website till date. She did make some meaningful contribution to the National Command and Operation Centre for Covid-19 response, but that was not the primary task assigned to her, and therefore remained largely unacknowledged.

People close to her claim that she was never welcomed by the bureaucracy, let alone be given a budget line or staff. But that was not unexpected, given the role that was assigned to her. Some believe that Mr Tareen’s exit also had a part to play in her departure. That may be right, but there was more.

Tania’s biggest mistake was not making any friends in the power corridors. She was initially lent some support by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, the then IT Minister, but soon after as political fireworks started between MQM and PTI, she lost that momentum. Ever since, she had been alienated from the IT ministry. Then, she never saw eye to eye with the National IT Board. And most importantly, she made no allies in the PM’s office. Rather than building bridges, she firewalled herself, thinking that she would still be able to deliver, bypassing bureaucracy. But she couldn’t have been more wrong.

Then comes the angle of ‘propriety’, something that has been repeatedly questioned with regard to the Digital Pakistan Foundation (DPF) which was a not-for-profit public limited company set up in February by Tania’s team. The purpose was to create an implementation arm for Digital Pakistan vision, outside the government, to hire ‘top talent’ and mobilise funding from development partners while avoiding the red tape.

A public sector organisation can have the luxury of being championed by the government without much objections while a service provider has to go through a transparent procurement process. The problem with DPF was that it looked like a government-sponsored Section 42 company but without ever being sponsored by the government. Both Tania and Jehangir Tareen were made members of this company, along with the CEO of a ride hailing company which would give them a permanent voice in DPF affairs. Notwithstanding any noble intentions behind setting up the organisation, prima facie DPF seemed like a clear case of conflict of interest.

Those who know Tania vouch for her integrity and professionalism, but she got distracted from her agenda, didn’t play the politics right and was definitely ill-advised on DPF. However, her departure not only leaves the Digital Pakistan’s future hanging in the balance, but also serves as a tale of caution for many.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2020.

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