It’s not cricket

The blatant abuse of power has only increased since the induction of the latest civilian government.

ZOOOOMMMMM!!! – that’s the sound of the cars that I see every day, whizzing down the wrong side of the road, and merrily charging through the red lights that foolishly try and stop their speedy progress.

For me, waiting at the red light or trying to drive down the correct side of the road, this is a frustrating experience to say the least. But what makes it truly aggravating is when the traffic offenders in question are aligned with the very people tasked with maintaining law and order in the first place.

Vehicles with green and blue licence plates blatantly breaking the law, flouting their tinted windows and oft-abused sirens and lights, have become an all too familiar site on the streets of our cities. And, frankly speaking, this kind of blatant abuse of power has only increased since the induction of the latest civilian government.

No wonder then that there is such a gaping ‘trust deficit‘ between the government and the people that they are meant to be serving. I know that this example of traffic violations is a small one, in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a very telling one as well. If our government is so contemptuous of us in such an open and brazen manner, what’s happening in secret, behind the closed doors? I shudder to think.

I don’t mean to condemn the entire body of the government. I’m sure that there are plenty of under-appreciated civil servants living up to their job titles. They work, mostly without thanks, at doing what they can with limited resources, poor pay, and a never ending parade of a de rigueur ruling elite that either don’t know what problems the common man is facing, or don’t care.

Unfortunately, there are lots of bad apples and the trust deficit has its roots in a very solid foundation of abuse and corruption. Where are our heroes? To whom do we look up to? What value does an award have when presented by someone nicknamed Mr Ten Per cent?

So you’ll excuse my scepticism after reading (http://tinyurl.com/37wtyom) that the government of Pakistan is considering a ‘flood tax’, to be tied to income tax, to raise the money it needs to finance the billions of dollars it will need for reconstruction efforts. This is a ludicrous idea from every angle and an insult to the tax-paying public.

Consider that the percentage of people whom are already paying their taxes is very, very small — conservatively below 10 per cent though realistically closer to three to five per cent.  It’s not a huge leap to assume that the people actually honest enough to pay their income tax are already doing their part in helping with flood relief efforts. To hit them with another tax hike, the funds of which will only end up in the murky underbelly of the government coffers, is unconscionable.

The floods that have hit Pakistan this year are a tragedy beyond imagination, and I feel for every family that has lost a loved one, their home, and probably both. If any good can come of this terrible situation, it’s if the people finally turn a searching eye onto their government and demand accountability from them. In fact it’s a necessity, because another disaster on this scale, with this level of mismanagement and petty feudalism, may be the straw that breaks the country’s back — if it isn’t broken already.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2010.