| 27 February 2005 | Sunday | 17 Muharram 1426 |
Balkanization of Iraq
Illegal posting of teachers
Interest-free lending
Afghan election
Effluent treatment plants
Baglihar and World Bank
Who should head varsities?
Plea for teacher
Audit report
Shikarpur jail
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The Privatization Commission has coined the pithy motto of "privatization for the people". As a department of the government it is supposed to act in the best interest of the people. However, due to general unawareness, it is important for people to know the implications of privatization.
We might see the government using funds it previously channelled to public sector companies being put to more productive uses such as mega-projects, etc. This bodes well for the people as job creation and economic activity shall be stimulated. However, it is also obvious that such jobs and economic activity won't be created overnight.
Another implication of privatization is that if it is pursued without an adequate regulatory framework in place, it is bound to create misery for people. This is because private companies are not duty-bound not to charge excessive prices - something which government-owned utilities are obliged to do. This causes such companies to charge monopolistic prices and fleece consumers.
In Pakistan, the monopoly control authority (MCA) is charged with ensuring that companies refrain from monopolistic practices. However, the MCA's track record has been questionable. The cartel in cement industry is a testament to this.
Then again, privatization carried out without creation of social safety nets, and creation of other jobs prior to privatization, creates discontent. Privatization is usually followed by layoffs of workers, leaving them high-and-dry. In Pakistan, the social safety nets are the joint family system and investment in National Savings Schemes for retired persons and widows. Thus, 'social security' in Pakistan is already stretched beyond its limits - and the youth (who form the bulk of Pakistan's population) do not have access to any form of social security.
In the absence of job opportunities, the youth are likely to show resentment, despondency, agitation and engagement in unproductive activities. Thus, lack of jobs existing prior to privatization, lack of social security, and threat of monopolistic practices are factors that pose serious economic risks for the people. The leaders who have approved the privatization shall be least affected by it as they are already well-to-do.
In view of these implications, one can judge for oneself whether the government has really carried out "privatization for the people", as it claims to have done.
MIR USMAN ALI
Karachi
Balkanization of Iraq
This has reference to the article of Mr Ashfaq Bokhari (Dawn, Feb 13).
We must realize that the neocons and their malicious and prejudiced electronic and print media are spreading the notion of division of Iraqis into Shias, Sunnis and Kurds for their ulterior motives. This is a mischievous move to Balkanize Iraq.
The fact is that there are two ethnic entities in Iraq, i.e the Arabs (both Sunnis and Shias) and the Kurds. They (the western media) misrepresent the Kurds as a separate religious entity. Kurds are also Sunni Muslim, and so from the sectarian angle there are only two entities, the Shias (who are in majority) and the Sunnis (both Arab and Kurd).
The Kurds are brave and self-respecting Muslims. They have the honour of producing great Muslims like Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi who defeated the crusaders and recovered Baitul Muqadas (Jerusalem) from them. They also produced Sultan Nooruddin Zangi who traced and put to the sword the two Jews who had planned the unimaginable sacrilege of approaching Roza-i-Ather of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) to remove his holy body from his sacred grave. They had partly dug a tunnel for this vicious plan.
The learned writer says: "And Sunnis too cannot be totally kept away from tasting power, of which they have been addicted to". This is also the impression created by the neo-cons' propaganda that the Sunnis have been ruling Iraq and committing brutalities and injustices on Shias and Kurds. The fact remains that the British created and used local stooges to disintegrate the Ottoman Empire. When they succeeded in their colonial designs, they thrust these stooges on Balkanized Arab territory as rulers. If any despot happened to be a Sunni, it did not mean that Sunnis as a community were the rulers.
When the Baathists took over in Iraq and Syria, they ruled as secular-Socialists and not as Sunnis or Shias. They crushed any opposition whether from Sunnis in Syria or Shias or Kurd-Sunnis in Iraq. The Baathist ideology and policy was laid down by a Christian Arab in which religion had no place. So it is preposterous to accuse Sunnis of the atrocities committed in Iraq in the past; the Sunnis were equal sufferers.
The enemies of Islam are dividing the Muslims both diagonally and horizontally both on the basis of sect and ethnicity everywhere in the world to rule over them so as to achieve their nefarious designs of keeping them under subjugation and occupation and to exploit their resources. All Iraqis whether Shia or Sunni or whether Arab or Kurd must unite like a rock to thwart the designs of the new imperialists.
KHWAJA MUHAMMAD BASHIR BUTT
Bahawalnagar
Illegal posting of teachers
The attention of Sindh Education Minister Hamida Khuhro is drawn towards the extremely deplorable condition of education in district Sanghar, particularly in Sinjhoro sub-division, where Grade 16 high school teachers (male as well as female) have been posted as assistant district education officers (ADEOs) purely on political grounds, bypassing senior officers of Grade 18 and above.
Senior officers with a clean and impressive record have either been posted to far-flung areas or given side postings. It is also pertinent to mention here that an ADEO has to be an officer of Grade 18.
These Grade 16 ADEOs have, in turn, posted primary school teachers of Grade 7 as supervisors, which is again a Grade-16 post. Ironically, Grade 16 ADEOs are not the competent authority to appoint supervisors. These inefficient and incompetent primary teachers, who have been posted as supervisors despite the ban imposed by the education minister, are collecting "bhatta" (gratification money) for themselves and their benefactors. Every teacher is entitled to the illegitimate relief of not attending to duty if he or she can spare Rs500 to Rs800 per month as "bhatta" to these primary teachers-cum-supervisors of Grade 7 or the ADEOs of Grade 16. Most of the schools are closed, but shown on paper as functioning.
Funds to the tune of millions of rupees given to primary schools on account of school management committees (SMCs) have been plundered and amounts released fraudulently and completely in violation of rules and regulations after constituting fake or ghost SMCs. Furthermore, the monthly salaries of teachers which are supposed to be given via crossed cheque according to the Sindh education secretary's instructions are being given in cash after deducting "bhatta". This practice was fully operational in the case of the Eid salary.
Even unmarried teachers have been shown to be on maternity leave in Sinjhoro female sub-division, and ghost teachers who have been appointed on leave-vacancy in their places have been collecting salaries.
The education minister is requested to immediately place under suspension ADEOs of Sinjhoro and replace them with senior Grade 18 officers, and save the future of thousands of children.
GHULAM HUSSAIN GHULAM
Sinjhoro Town
Interest-free lending
Generally, profit-sharing is presented as a substitute for interest-based loans and much has been written and debated on topics like riba free economy and interest-free banking. Even after prolonged debate, no practical solution has been adopted and the issue is worsening day by day as financial institutions keep offering new interest-based products to invest their idle funds.
In this situation the Islamic community should be able to devise such a concept which satisfies the Islamic ideology as well as the needs of financial institutions and their clients. I wish to present a concept which neither has an interest element nor profit-sharing. Although the idea has been presented by some scholars decades ago, it has never been noticed, discussed and adopted.
In its simplest form if a party lends Rs100,000 to a borrower for, say, one year, the borrower in return can lend him Rs10,000 for, say, 10 years. In this way, the different time-frame and value for each loan can meet both parties' requirements and no element of increase or decrease in capital value is involved in each loan. The concept can be seen as "a loan against a loan without any amplified return in shape of interest". Only the different time-frame and value of each loan shall be the gain for each party.
Now replacing these fictitious parties with a financial institution at one side and a businessman or entrepreneur on the other side, the former can accumulate large sums of money for extended durations and the latter can fulfil his capital needs.
The raw concept narrated above needs to be thrashed out and converted into profitable products by policymakers and financial institutions.
ADEEL AHMED QURESHI
Lahore
Afghan election
October 9, 2004, marked the first-ever free presidential elections held in Afghanistan. Discipline was maintained and not even casual conflicts were witnessed. According to international observers, out of the 26 million Afghan population, almost 100 per cent eligible voters participated, amongst which 41.3 per cent were women.
Considering this successful experience, one hardly anyone has welcomed the rescheduling of parliamentary elections from May to September. On one hand, this renders a negative impact by giving the warlords and the losers of the previous elections more time to prepare and propagate against the Karzai set-up on the other, it has a number of positive aspects.
It will provide time for complete disarmament of the country. The national army and police must be strengthened and given control of all areas as to provide a greater sense of security due to rising tension at the village level.
Parliamentary elections are based on the population of different electoral constituencies. Absence of large numbers of refugees will affect the ratio. Their return is necessary to facilitate their participation in the elections. The census plan launched by Pakistan under the UNHCR will prove helpful. Some 400,000 refugees are expected to return this year under the voluntary repatriation programme.
Parliamentary debates, preparatory workshops, conferences and seminars have yet to be organized of by the electoral authorities. Almost 5,000 parliamentary candidates, as compared to 18 candidates in the presidential elections, is a huge number. Their campaign and preparations, as well as the activities of the electoral commission, multiplied by thousands. These need time, which the postponement provides.
AARYA NIJAT
via email
Effluent treatment plants
Setting up of CETPS (combined effluent treatment plants) in various industrial estates is a burning issue about which the ministry of environment (MoE) and the Asian Development Bank look very serious.
The ADB arranged feasibility studies through a local firm for different industrial sectors for setting up CETPS for cluster industries. Based on the study, in fact, serious work has been started on some of CETPS within the country.
It is feared, however, that the approach in this regard is not correct. In the recently-adapted strategy by the government, there are and there shall be a lot of grey areas and pertinent issues which are not easy to overcome by the various stakeholders, such as entrepreneurs, water and sewerage boards, city governments, provincial governments and the federal government.
During study of the formation of the so-called CETP companies and implementation of CETPS through them, the main issues such as formation of a company consisting of stakeholders, arrangement of land, installation of new sewerage routes up to the proposed sites of the CETPS, their operation and maintenance on a sustainable basis. i.e., generation of funds, etc., for operating the units, at present look very difficult.
The alternative being suggested is simple. A CETP should be installed at the point of the culmination of the sewerage system of a particular industrial sector which is bound to contain an urban community; thus cluster industries as well as urban sectors both shall be generating waste water. The collection of parameters for designing such urban and industrial effluent treatment plants (UIETP) is easier and quicker. Such plants can be based on tried processes operating in China, India and elsewhere. If the ADB is serious about its goals, it can finance such UIETPS also.
Since a sewerage network shall already be existing, there would be no need for installing a new sewerage system. Thus the installation cost of CETPS will reduce greatly. The cost of operation of such CETPS will also be minimal as it will contain urban sewerage which will be good for treatment of industrial waste water. In order to generate funds for sustaining such units, the effluent from them can be sold to horticulture units and or can be utilized in city fire water loops and or to the industries which can install recycle / reuse facilities based on this effluent, while sludge generated from CETPS, on being dried, can either be burnt or may be partly used as manure or for land filling.
These units can be managed through a board of directors, taken from members of industrial units, water boards, as well as from city and provincial government, etc.
In this way CETP implementation will be faster. We have the Kasur model of CETP, which took several years to implement with lots of additional finances. We should, therefore, carefully study while deciding as what is the most easy and economical way of installing CETPS.
MAHMOOD AKBAR
Karachi
Baglihar and World Bank
The World Bank says it cannot stop New Delhi from work on Baglihar. The World Bank president, Mr James D. Wolfensohn, while indicating his willingness to look for a neutral expert, has expressed his inability to bind the expert to any time limit.
In the meantime, it is expected that India will continue to keep constructing the dam to the chagrin of Pakistan. India while undertaking CBMs on non-issues will proceed with its pending manifesto to tighten the grip over other resources available in Indian-held Kashmir, including that of water.
Pakistan, while enjoying the sympathy of the World Bank president during his recent short visit to Pakistan, is not expected to get any heavenly favours from him. It has to have a capability of its own to make India stay within the confines of the Indus Waters Treaty.
Other forces like the UNSC, World Bank or Nato allies may interfere but India will refuse to cooperate with them. India was requested by Pakistan to stop its work on the Baglihar dam while the matter was referred to the World Bank for intervention. India did not bother. Now, when the complaint has been officially made, India has come out with another proposal to "continue more talks" to further exploit the curse of "bilateralism". This is only to contain the World Bank's initiative and gain time to complete the unholy project.
A.Q. ANJUM
Rawalpindi
Who should head varsities?
Syed Shahid Husain (Encounter page, Feb 19) has pointed out one of the aspects of the declining standard of our educational system. The privately-managed universities may be better administered but their graduates' standard is not much different from that of the public university graduates.
The problem lies not just in the administration but in the lack of merit in our society. We see corrupt and inefficient persons holding high offices simply because they are patronized by the establishment class in one way or the other. This pattern permeates different strata of our society.
This is mostly manifested in our universities wherea certain group has a hold on them and only allow their friends and relatives to enter the academia thus stifling competition, research and other constructive activities. The situation can only be improved if we really implement the merit system in full.
DR SHAHID TUFAIL SHEIKH
Lahore
Plea for teacher
I am from a rural area of Sindh. In my village, Mirwah taluka, Khairpur district, there is a primary school but there has been no teacher for about one year.
I would appeal to Sindh Education Minister Hamida Khuhro to appoint a teacher in our village and protect the future of our children.
BAHADUR ALI SHAR
Thari Mirwah
Audit report
A news item published in a section of the press in Multan on Feb 18 about the devolution plan in Multan division carried the audit report of the provincial government with specific references of the authorities concerned.
The report highlights the performance of the district governments of Multan division and provides details of Khanewal district in this regard. It has highlighted illegalities committed to the tune of Rs40 million. The report states that if a detailed audit were carried out, the illegalities would increase many times.
The people of Khanewal, in particular, and Pakistan, in general, are anxiously waiting to see what action would be taken by the government against the persons responsible for this massive fraud and corruption. Such gross illegalities need to be stopped immediately and the funds earmarked for the people's benefit recovered. Those found guilty must be punished in accordance with the law.
MOHAMMAD RAHIM
Multan
Shikarpur jail
It was horrible to visit the judicial lock-up in Shikarpur. Termed dangerous by the authorities and with a capacity of about 100 people, the lock-up building houses more than 275 people in different barracks like cattle.
It was heart-breaking to see a 14-year-old boy locked with more than 50 adults in a very congested room where there was no place for all the inmates even to stand properly. One inmate died last week.
Ironically, all the inmates were under trial, which shows that many of them could be innocent and were going through the ordeal without being convicted.
According to the lock-up authorities, though the building of a new district jail was completed three years back, it has not been handed over to the prison department by the building department due to some departmental hurdles. So, the detainees continue to suffer. I would request the government to look into the matter and shift the jail to its new premises as soon as possible.
ARSHAD MAHMOOD
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