| August 1, 2005 | Monday | Jumadi-us-Sani 24, 1426 |
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LB poll changes
Transparent allotments
GOING by the observations of the adviser to the prime minister on finance, the official strategy to create employment seems to be acquiring a new focus. Dr Salman Shah says the government plans to generate three million jobs by setting up community-based projects. The number of jobs intended to be so created forms quite a sizeable proportion of the 11.3 million targeted under the 10-year medium-term plan (2001-2011). No less significant is the modality for achieving the objective. A major involvement of local communities in labour-intensive projects is envisaged, which is a move with enormous potential. In a very limited way, whenever local communities have undertaken socio-economic projects even within their limited capacities, they have delivered at a much cheaper cost than similar ventures by public sector agencies funded by debt. But community development has been handicapped by a lack of effective and widespread empowerment and the absence of much needed coordination between district governments and the communities in the areas of their operation. If the proposed move has to be successful, the Task Force on Economic Policy, which is working on a comprehensive strategy for employment generation, should not only look into policy issues, programmes and plans of action but also the problem of efficient execution.
While announcing the government plans to set up community-based projects, the PM’s adviser not only acknowledged that the pace of job creation did not match the economic growth of over eight per cent but also recognized the need for sustained expansion of job opportunities. Independent studies show that the unemployment rate was reduced from 8.3 in 2001-2002 to 7.7 per cent in 2003-2004, but much of the improvement came about by counting in “unpaid labour”, unaccounted for so far. The impediments in job creation are many and varied, including a mismatch between the trade skills needed by a diversifying economy and the products of the existing education system. With the weakening of the trickle-down effect of economic growth, the official strategy has been to promote labour-intensive small and medium-size enterprises and the construction industry and encourage self-employment through micro-finance. Skill development is also on the agenda. As the outcome in these sectors has not so far been encouraging, the government has been increasing its development spending on a sustained scale. The Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) has been doubled to Rs 202 billion over the past few years with a major share earmarked for extending infrastructure facilities that provide temporary jobs countrywide. Whereas there has not been much disagreement on these specific official policies, the government has been criticized for weak implementation.
As the Task Force draws up a comprehensive policy for job opportunities, it needs, therefore, to focus on emerging new realities like the trend towards jobless growth. The first priority should be to make economic growth socially sustainable and make a distinction between growth and development without which creation of jobs in a sustained manner cannot be part of the economic mainstream. Social indicators are as important as economic growth. And operating on the fringes will not provide much comfort to the unemployed. But for immediate relief, the development of an infrastructure and of trade skills needs to be speeded up to open up employment opportunities quickly.
IT IS impossible to expect that any election in Pakistan can take place without a chorus of accusations of pre-poll rigging. This holds true of the forthcoming local body elections as well. As the date for polling approaches, accusations are being made by persons and parties of unfair practices designed to help some candidates as against some others. While there may be some doubt about the authenticity of many of the allegations, they nonetheless deserve some preliminary investigation as the major complaints are aimed at government quarters charging them with openly canvassing for chosen candidates. This is in clear violation of the rules laid down in the Local Government Ordinance promulgated in 2001. However, it should come as no surprise that ministers are being accused of using state machinery (cars, staff and police escorts) to canvas support for their candidates. The PPP, for one, has made several complaints to that effect and is also accusing provincial governments of victimizing some candidates. On Friday it alleged that two Awam Dost candidates in Karachi were kidnapped before the scrutiny of their papers. Similar charges by other groups are being heard nationwide, several of which point to ministers trying to influence voters. This is why it is important that these allegations are looked into by the CEC, especially when it concerns the conduct of ministers.
The Election Commission has initiated steps to ensure neutrality of the polls. It has inducted caretaker nazims and disallowed them to start new projects or transfer officials — steps which could have queered the pitch for fair polls (although whether the latter directive is being fully observed remains unclear). However, confusion persists on a few issues. Parliamentarians belonging to parties are allowed to contest LB polls (they have to resign from office only if they win) whereas the 2001 Ordinance clearly says that a contesting candidate has to submit an affidavit stating that he/she has no political party affiliation. This contradiction has yet to be removed. The EC took a bold step recently when it said that it would take punitive action against anyone found preventing women from participating in the LB polls. It needs now to look into allegations of pre-poll rigging and stop any government functionary from influencing the electoral process.
SINDH Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim’s remarks at the opening of a housing industry exhibition in Karachi that his government would enact a law to make the process of land allotments more transparent are welcome. The chief minister said in the past, government land was sold at cheap prices and that this was purely on political grounds; misuse of such land was depriving the poorer segments of society from obtaining affordable housing. While Mr Rahim is right in saying that previous governments in Sindh — and in fact in other provinces and at the centre — have sold state land at throwaway prices, he should remember allegations of land-grabbing and illegal allotments have also been surfacing during his time as chief minister. It was only last February that Mr Rahim had accused his revenue minister, Imtiaz Sheikh, of corruption in land allotments and land grabbing and then sacked him. In his defence, Mr Sheikh had levelled similar allegations against the chief minister.
Also, the public perception among many in Sindh, by and large, is that not much has really changed as far as selling state land cheaply is concerned. In fact, instances of outright land-grabbing by departments or agencies working under the provincial government or facilitated by government officials have been reported in the media but regrettably there has been next to no follow-up on the part of the government. The fact of the matter is that land grabbers and those who make a living acquiring state land cheaply and then disposing of it at market prices have been practising their trade with impunity for years in Sindh. For reasons that have mostly to do with appeasing political favourites or pursuit of personal gain, those at the helm of affairs have failed in their responsibility of protecting the misuse and embezzlement of a state resource as precious as land. One can only hope that this time around the chief minister means what he says and that the new law will be fully enforced.