It was astonishing to come across a quarter page advertisement appearing in the national press inviting expressions of interest for development of an amusement and recreational park situated at sector F-9, Islamabad.
That the most expensive advertisement then went on to dilate upon the actual details of the proposed development including the educational and art zone- which encompassed the international gardens (?), a Pakistan 'model village', the children science centre, something known as the traffic park, the most popular and loved of the Jurrassic Park, the art museum and this being not enough an etcetera too was added.
The amusement play zone- not be left behind it proudly includes amusement parks, water recreational park site, the aquarium site, gym/ fitness centre, the circurama site and similar facilities complex (again an open-ended affair) the international and national theme garden/ village and cultural parks (note the plural to the word park) and lastly what is painted as something known as cuisine- this part tells us that the whole southern side of the park or full 20 per cent of it would go to shops and restaurants selling food- the saving grace being that international cuisine too would be accommodated, makes it all even more awe-inspiring.
Besides the dignity of doing of mega projects, the angle of procurement too arises and the fruits of appendages attached with it. Procurement has always been a great attraction and the position or any particular post holds special place in case it has such a chance.
It is because of this that a friend of mine, on being asked about his new posting, with glee had replied that it was good because of the huge budget at it's disposal and, probably, this is the main reason that most of the governmental leakage pertains to procurement activity alone.
The question arises as to at what slot should we place amusement parks and such like activities- specially in comparison with the provision of the necessary infra-structure. Should the basics be corrected first or should all activity take place concurrently.
Another question that arises and would definitely need answers is whether sustainable infra-structure takes precedence over all else or it has to be an ongoing process with mid-flight corrections and changes taking place on way.
Here reference is made to the most recent edicts of the IMF/WB and the 5-year infra-structure development plan agreed between the lending agency and the GoP. This has been laid out in order to accelerate growth in the country.
Furthermore, it is seen that the theme and the main focus of the present caucus of the Pakistan Development Forum (PDF) is on alleviation of poverty and provision of better opportunities to the people aiming at improving their living standards.
As a consequence, improvements have to be made in the present water system, water supply for agriculture, roads, railways, tele-communication and the power systems. Thus infra-structure for a near developing country like ours makes up all the basics viz. education, health, utilities, industrial and agriculture base and an effort towards policy -driven R&D to sustain whatever has been set up.
As all this is missing in the country, the next step of thinking and caring for the recreational needs of the population and that too on the lines adopted by the developed countries, and which basically are most industrially advanced, is most in-appropriate at this stage of time.
Why is that amusement and recreation has taken the driving seat in Pakistan during the last one decade or so. Why is that basics stand neglected and that too in face of an onslaught of activity that does not contribute to the national economy.
The sad part of the situation is that the nation is as unfocussed as ever and thus drives on towards a situation, which may not be comfortable as all. This is so because the situation in Pakistan, whatever the concerned may say, is difficult and the pre-requisites to development of a sustainable infra-structure are missing altogether- specially so because our planners are still mired and stuck in the old data which showed that at least 80 to 85 per cent of our population lived in the rural areas and away from the cities; whereas at present nearly 35 per cent are living in the newly created and evolved urban centres, which too have jumped from five or so in the 1960s to over 34 now. This demographical change needs to be incorporated as it would lead to a quantum change in the planning process.
Similarly, we see that the annual requirement of capital investment in the infra-structure sector would be $ 2.5 to 3.00 billion of which the GoP can only contribute to the tune of $1 to 1.25 billion at the best.
The PDF and the GoP are of the view that Pakistan's private sector would need to provide for this deficit. Will the private sector start contributing when in the past, unlike many other developing countries of Latin America and the Far East Asia, Pakistan could not reap such benefits.
In order to come to an answer, we need to understand the inhibiting factors which have been the unclear division of responsibilities between policy and ownership by the government leading to an undesirable tilt in favour of the government owned enterprises, lack of adequate regulatory framework, weak capacity and co-ordination among the various government agencies, poorly structured concession and contractual arrangements, heightened political risk, poor governance and the high transaction costs. This conclusion is important enough when we see that it is based upon the observations made by the Governor of the State Bank himself a few days ago.
Coming specifically to the capital territory of Islamabad, we see that the federal capital has a very weak infra-structure which too is leaking at all points. The civic facilities are fragile and cannot take any more battering. The only redeeming factor is the undulating terrain and gravity that cleans-up after every rain.
As such we see that the area's roads are simply inadequate, the sewerage system- in fact a polluting system, schools and colleges- just thank the founding fathers and the federal government's largesse, not enough for one half of the population, water supply- simply archaic and just enough to look after a quarter of the needs of the citizens, electricity and gas- on the fringes of being fully assailed and last but not the least waste collection a sad reminder of the low level of municipal governance at our disposal.
The interior ministry has recently held the CDA responsible for water shortage in Islamabad and its adjoining areas during the summer season. And the situation is so bad that in a letter the ministry has directed the CDA to take short and long-term measures to overcome water shortage.
For the short-term measures, it has directed the authority to take immediate steps to reduce the leakage and wastage of water which makes up 33-50 percent of the total water supply. It also suggested installation of meters to charge the consumers on the basis of "pay as you use" as the fixed monthly water charges are causing colossal financial losses.
The authority was also directed to replace all leaking pipes in the residential and commercial units and install bulk meters to determine the exact supply from various sources. Additionally, it was directed to collect a complete record of the entire distribution network to eliminate domestic pumping as far as possible.
The ministry also directed the authority to register all connections to increase revenue and check wastage. The authority was further directed to adopt the latest techniques in the treatment of raw water containing organic materials.
For the long-term measures, the ministry directed the CDA to constitute a Federal Capital Water Board replacing the present water supply directorate. Just a small study of the water issue thus would expose the working of the municipality.
So what should be the CDA's duty and how should it go about. Are its present efforts to go for mega-projects and which too are away from its primary and core responsibilities acceptable? Is it giving far more importance to cultural and such activities an encroachment on the turf or duties of other governmental organizations. Would all this not make the CDA loose direction?
Moreover, it does not have the right to desecrate the 759 Acres of pristine glory with commercial development. It also has to be remembered that Islamabad Central Park (who-so-ever planned it- Edward Durel Stone, needs to be thanked profusely) would remain the area's central lung for at least a century or so and is very important considering the fast urban development we see around Islamabad.
As a consequence, no development barring some children's area (inherently separate from commercial amusement centres), should be allowed. If at all such commercial development is considered necessary to bring extra revenues to the development authority, private parties can always come up and offer even better development and correctly on areas other than the central park.
The CDA can then offer all help- but becoming an integral part of a totally un-related activity would be simply un-called for. Moreover, such a diversion would tax the already meagre human and material resources and resultantly lead to a more stunted level of municipal service to the tax payer. Additionally, it is also a fact that once an organization is allowed to steer away from its core responsibilities it permanently skews and also makes others err.
