Turning around

To be scrupulously fair to the government of the PML-N and Nawaz Sharif, it inherited an economy that really was in very poor shape. There was — nor is there still — any quick fix for the multitude of problems that Pakistan faces on the economic front, and it may be argued also that the PML-N government has tried to dodge the bullet in some ‘sensitive’ areas such as taxation. The recent budget was a lacklustre affair, the attempt to slay the Hydra of circular debt has failed and the burden is now being passed on to the consumer — again. Solar-power projects and dams take time to mature, and state-owned entities are as resistant to change and improvement as they ever were — yet not all is gloom and doom, and it is in our developing relationship with China that modest fruits may appear.

Substance is beginning to attach to the idea of the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor, and six development schemes worth Rs130 billion as well as two strategically important projects have been approved. All the projects are related to transport and communications and the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Reviving Gwadar is a priority and is linked to securing energy supplies for the north-western provinces of China. A 2,000 km transit route will be created bringing thousands of jobs with it. The Karachi-Lahore motorway is another link in the corridor chain and is now approved in principle, as is the Hassanabdal-Havelian Expressway. All very easily said in principle, but as past experience has shown, Pakistan can be an inept implementer even of the best ideas. Poor project formulation, failure to attend to detail in particular local impact studies, and chronic corruption bedevil a majority of projects large and small. One has only to look — and none too closely — at the morass the Diamer-Basha dam is mired in to see the grassroots realities.

Caveats aside, we welcome this development. Our Chinese partners are in for the long haul; they are far-sighted and follow through on their commitments. But turning the Pakistan economy around requires courage, vision and innovation, and we hope these are delivered.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2014.

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