| 31 March 2004 | Wednesday | 09 Safar 1425 |
Arab summit chaos
Textbook delays
The launch of the second phase of the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) by Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz comes at a time when there are questions as to whether these efforts are making a difference in the lives of the poor.
In the absence of statistics which could prove otherwise, the government is of the view that all indicators show a rise in incomes, particularly in the rural areas where poverty is more prevalent.
Having said that, the rise in the prices of most essential items over the year makes one conclude that inflation and a lack of income generating opportunities are forcing many into the lap of poverty.
In its annual report, the State Bank had noted that the biggest challenge before the country's economic planners was to create as many jobs as possible in the short term.
The report had linked the issue of job creation with that of poverty, which has risen from 20 per cent to 34 per cent over the past decade. The report had warned that given the present state of affairs, it would simply be unrealistic to expect any significant fall in poverty levels in the short term.
The basic point of SBP's argument was that poverty would not be eradicated unless its root causes, such as a decline in the quality of human capital, were adequately addressed. In this, one expects the government to take initiatives in areas where employment generation potential is sizable, like in the construction industry.
At the same time, more should be done to develop skills of the growing number of unemployed graduates in the country. More emphasis on vocational education is needed.
There is no doubt that Pakistan has made an economic turnaround, with GDP growing at an estimated 5.1 per cent in 2002-03 as compared to the previous year and inflation remaining at a low 3.3 per cent in the same period.
What remains to be seen is whether the government is able to achieve a similar turnaround in the social sector, particularly in reducing poverty levels. Economic prosperity must trickle down to low-income groups.
The Human Condition Report 2003 stated that over 60 per cent of those below the poverty line could be classified as transitory poor. This means that with a little help in terms of job opportunities, loans, etc., this group of people could move out of its poverty situation.
Under the second phase of the PPAF, the government intends to address these issues. To develop skills and resources, it plans to extend the reach of the programme to an additional five million people by providing access to micro-credit facilities as well as other forms of support.
Ironically, official spending on reducing poverty in some areas is seen to have declined recently. Figures for the first quarter of the current fiscal year indicate that spending in areas like water, sanitation, food support, health, population planning, rural development and zakat has dropped.
It now remains to be seen how serious the government is about implementing a long-term strategy to deal with poverty reduction and social development in a country that does not have a good record of following through such programmes. It is in this perspective that one has to view the latest initiative to reduce poverty.
Arab summit chaos
Tunisia's sudden decision to cancel the Arab summit conference serves to highlight the utter chaos raging in the Arab camp. The host called off the summit at the eleventh hour without even consulting the foreign ministers who had gathered in Tunis.
No wonder, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa has expressed his "astonishment" at the decision. More chaos was in the offing, with Egypt offering to host the conference and Tunisia insisting that it reserved the right to call a summit meeting whenever it wished.
There was no unanimity on the Egyptian offer: it was accepted by Yemen and Jordan, the others sitting on the fence. All this show of disunity comes in the wake of Israel's murder of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin.
The summit cancellation was due to differences over President George Bush's Greater Middle East Initiative, but the holding of the conference could have demonstrated Arab unity in the wake of Sheikh Yassin's murder.
As pointed out by a Palestinian spokesman, the disarray in Arab ranks could encourage Israel to take "large-scale actions" against the Palestinians. No wonder, Tel Aviv should have gloated over the postponement, saying it showed that "the Arab world" was changing.
The American "initiative" has little chance of success. There are basically two problems with it: one, anything coming from outside is bound to face resistance.
If the Arab world is to have democracy, it must grow from within. Two, it ignores the Palestinian question. The initiative cannot arouse the interest of Arab leaders and people unless it seeks to undo the injustices done to the Palestinian people. Israel is in illegal possession of Arab lands.
Washington must see to it that this occupation comes to an end, and the Palestinians have a sovereign state of their own. Without addressing this basic issue, Washington should not expect its reform initiative to make any headway. As a prelude to this, Washington must pressure Israel to end its reign of terror in occupied territories and renounce murder as a state policy.
Textbook delays
The delayed publication of textbooks by the Sindh Textbook Board for the current academic year is a serious cause for concern for both students and parents. Unfortunately, such delays on the part of the textbook boards across the country are a routine occurrence.
This is not fair, because the students' time lost because of unavailability of prescribed syllabus books can never be made up for during the remainder of the academic year. The delay this year in Sindh is particularly hurtful.
Revised textbooks were supposed to have been made available in the market by February but the textbook board says that it can only get them out by June. As everyone knows, schools remain closed for summer vacation in June and July, which means that students will actually have to wait until August to get their textbooks and suffer a virtual loss of four months of the academic year.
Revision of textbooks and not the delay in their publication each year should be a matter of routine. The textbook boards have ample time each year to get the needful done but, like other public-sector organizations, the boards seem to suffer from excessive bureaucratic apathy and inefficiency.
Unless major syllabus revisions are undertaken by the education ministry, the budget for textbook publication remains available with the textbook boards. So, a paucity of funds is not applicable here.
It is time the government either farmed out the routine publication of textbooks to private printing presses or ensured, as a matter of priority, that such delays do not occur.
The former cannot be too bad an idea because the sheer volume of textbooks published every year will ensure that these have a good profit margin for private publishers, who are more likely to make textbooks available to the students at affordable prices and in good time.