Conspiring against Sindh govt?

When the previous Sindh government was in power, a grade-17  education officer would, as a practice, turn down telephonic orders of the education minister. He would say, “I do not like to attend phone calls even if they are from the chief minister house; who cares if they are from the education minister’s office.”

Actually he was posted at the orders of a highly influential party leader. So not only did he bungle much of the district education department’s budget, he also appointed school teachers without merit; of course, in defiance of rules.

As anybody would know, such illegal practices are not limited to just the education department. The situation is the same for health, irrigation, revenue, police, roads, etc.

The major point to ponder is: how the education minister could take action against a politically appointed teacher, or against a corrupt officer in the education department who has an agreed upon share in the salaries of ghost school-teachers.

It was common knowledge that some time ago, serious differences marred relations between two influential provincial assembly members. Being from the same district, they were in a race, appointing officers in their area. One official threatened the chief minister to leave the ruling party if officers of his choice were not appointed.

The politicians and ministers of the ruling party have often claimed that conspiracies are being hatched against their democratic government, and this has prevented them from strengthening institutions and kept them from performing well in different sectors.

I wonder what conspiracy has turned Sindh’s schools into ghost schools, and has rendered local health centres and hospitals non-functional. Who could be blamed for this pitiful situation? The so-called conspirators? The government funcationaries? Or the ruling party itself?

I wonder when our government and elected representatives will make it a priority to bring about real change in society and stop concocting conspiracy theories. Can we expect that it will happen during the current tenure of the PPP? Affirmative, if the writ of the government prevails; this can happen within a few days.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2013.