Diverting funds

Development funds should be utilised where most needed, process for doing so should be free of partisan concerns.

It seems as if all roads lead to the prime minister — literally. In his last few days in office, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has been determined to spend as much public money as possible in his hometown, Gujar Khan. Two road projects that were proposed after the prime minister added Gujar Khan to the Public Sector Development Programme will require the approval of further funds, which would have to be diverted from other projects, in violation of rules instituted by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Those rules were only introduced by the ECP in the first place because the prime minister diverted Rs15 billion away from development projects to his own discretionary fund.

It has become commonplace for politicians to put their own interests above those of the country. In the case of an ordinary backbencher, there would be nothing untoward about trying to get as many funds for his constituency as possible. The prime minister, however, is supposed to be above that and not favour his hometown. He is supposed to look after the needs of everyone in the country. This situation is compounded by the fact that elections are approaching and the prime minister seems determined to use public money to help his party’s re-election efforts. Development funds should be utilised where they are most needed and the process for doing so should be free of partisan concerns.

The prime minister’s misuse of development funds also underscores the need for an independent ECP. That the ECP has so far not allowed these projects to stand is to its credit. It should now ensure that no funds are diverted for the construction of these roads. That would highlight the freedom with which the ECP is operating and would also show political parties, like the PTI, that their concerns about the ECP’s independence are unfounded. The elections must be contested fairly and the PPP should not be allowed to misuse its incumbency powers. The only way to stop this is through the ECP, which has thankfully been up to the task so far.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th, 2013.