Running on empty

We are capable of fixing our own problems; all we need are honest leaders who are not dipping their hands in the till

It does not make sense for a whole province to run out of petrol overnight. That is what seems to have happened in Punjab where fuel stations have turned dry leaving the people having to fight for what little that remains.

It takes a particularly incompetent government to achieve this feat. This is what the Nawaz Sharif government is fast becoming.

We are told that the fault lies with the private sector oil marketing companies who have lessened or are unwilling to let go of their stocks because of falling oil prices.  But if fuel was to be found at any pump, it was at those which were owned by private oil marketing companies. That too could not hold out for too long.

It is not the private sector that calls the shots. And declining fuel prices are a global phenomena, not restricted to Pakistan. One did not hear of fuel shortages in land-locked Afghanistan or its capital Kabul.

In his usual darbari style, prime minister Nawaz Sharif took the step of suspending (not sacking as was reported in some sections of the media) some officials in a bid to lessen the anger directed against his administration. But that is not good enough.

I remember how the Sharif government treated the independent power producers that the Benazir government had brought to Pakistan. These IPPs were hounded and publicly humiliated. The man who helped set up the policy, Shahid Hasan Khan, was attacked and abused by Sharif loyalists. Ironically, it is these very IPPs who have helped us manage our power production over the past years. So much drama on the economy only for point scoring.

This time round, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has disappointed us further. We were expecting that his government would not act like its predecessor and it would get the economy up and running.

This is a pro-business PM we were told, who cut red tape to let the economy flourish. The opposite has been the case. Sharif has been bad for both the economy and for the private sector. And we cannot blame Imran Khan or the hidden hand for everything.

For one, he has stuffed near and dear ones in almost all public sector enterprises. Take Shujaat Azeem, the golden boy of aviation who seems to have brought the national airline to its knees. Almost every other day we hear tales of scandals, corruption and incompetence in PIA.  And this is the tip of the iceberg.

There is a lack of economic vision. Ishaq Dar’s only achievement it seems was to bring the dollar back to 100 after Pakistan pledged to remain neutral in the war in Syria. It was a cheap bargain with the Saudis, but we made it.

State enterprises are overburdened and underperforming.  Entities like Pakistan State Oil, Pakistan Steel, the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation and many others. There has been no effort made to fix them.

Pakistan Steel, for example, is bleeding. It enjoys an almost monopoly like situation in the steel production sector so this defies logic. Corruption seems the only plausible answer.

There is the lack of direction on the part of the government. Like the appointment of acting heads of private sector enterprises but not giving them control. The inability to get regulators to act decisively because many have been appointed based on personal considerations.

Then there is lack of foresight in terms of planning ahead and the over-emphasis on high ticket infrastructure projects, in place of less grand but more important undertakings. We have billions to spend on motorway’s and city bus projects but not enough for health, education, water, public transport and other less attractive subjects.

We do not need the Chinese or the Turk to help us in fixing our roads and our schools. To help us clean up our cities and to build our basic health infrastructure. We are capable of this and more by having competent people in positions of authority and by checking theft and malpractice through an institutionalized approach. All we need are honest leaders and ministers who themselves are not dipping their hands in the till. This is the real challenge.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th,  2015.

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