| June 26, 2006 | Monday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 29, 1427 |
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State as a service provider
Quaid’s great grandson
Shining Pakistan
Imran-Qazi alliance
Managing power supply system
Parking woes in Islamabad
‘Crying will not help’
‘Retd’
Fading education
THIS is apropos of the news item regarding the approval of the latest World Bank loan of $6.5 billion to Pakistan ( June 3). This news was also telecast by the PTV with much fanfare as evidence of the World Bank’s trust in Pakistan and the policies introduced by its present government.
This loan is said to be the largest ever to be lent to this nation in one go and almost double the grant extended during the last three-year period. Incidentally, these statements are not a matter of pride but rather to the contrary. All governments in Pakistan have believed that their success and efficiency lie in securing a substantial loan from the World Bank and other donor organisations.
Consequently, we are today under the yoke of extensive national debt owed to the WB, the IMF, the OECF, the ADB and China. A considerable amount of loan from China has come in the shape of suppliers’ credit on high interest rates against sovereign guarantee rendered by the government. The Japanese government recently resumed its $500 million annual assistance to help Pakistan undertake its development projects (Dawn, May 28).
Lately there have been tall claims by the government about the fantastic growth in the country’s economy; the statistics they quote would outclass those of many industrialised countries. If our economy is as good as it is claimed to be, then why are we in such desperate need of wholesale loans? In fact, our government requires a loan for whatever step it wants to take toward improvement of services or infrastructure. We require a loan if we want to alleviate poverty in the country, introduce reforms for good governance, execute an industrial project or import energy from Central Asia. For this last project the US announced its willingness to give technical and financial help only last month (Dawn, May 24).
Consider some of the items for which the latest World Bank grant is to be utilised. These include improvement of irrigation sector; introducing fiscal, governance, devolution and procurement reforms; education reforms; improvement of fiscal management service delivery; municipal service improvement projects; improvement in viability and effectiveness of urban services provided by the participating tehsil municipal authorities; and making these improvements sustainable and replicable in other municipalities.
One would only wish that some matters like these could be handled with our own resources. The government has already imposed heavy taxes on the people, yet is still not in a position to cater to simple procedural improvements at the district executive level without resorting to borrowing.
The situation is best described in the words of president Franklin D. Roosevelt: “If the nation is living within its income, its credit is good. If in some crisis it lives beyond its income for a year or two, it can usually borrow temporarily on reasonable terms. But if, like the spendthrift, it throws discretion to the winds, is willing to make no sacrifice at all in spending, extends its taxing up to the limit of the people’s power to pay and continues to pile up deficits, it is on the road to bankruptcy”.
ZEHRA WASIM KHAN
California, USA
IN Pakistan, as in many other countries, state is the single biggest provider of services, such as electricity, gas, water, education, roads, justice, law and order, public health, country’s defence and railways.
The basic responsibility of a state is to provide these services in a manner that best meets the needs and expectations of its citizens, and for this we need a primary business model in which the state becomes a supplier and the citizens its customers. This relationship is now being universally recognised, and the states are increasingly interested in determining how satisfied are its citizens with the services that they offer.
There is a general perception in Pakistan that the services provided by the state are inefficient and inadequate. It caters only to a handful of the rich and influential, while making it a nightmare experience for ordinary citizens when undertaking even routine transactions such as paying bills, getting ID cards or driving licences, reporting police cases, seeking justice from courts, paying taxes, or dealing with government departments for any information, task, certificate, permission, refund or approval.
What are some of the causes of this affliction in state-run organisations and what can be the possible remedies? I talked to several chief executives of state-run organisations and asked them a basic question: “Who are your customers?” It took a long time for many to come out with the reply: ‘Islamabad’. There is thus a complete lack of focus on who are their real customers. If one works to please some imaginary figure in Islamabad, instead of the real person standing in the queue, the quality of service rendered would obviously be compromised.
Another reason for the poor service is the thinking that every customer should be considered a fraud unless he proves otherwise. This approach leads to designing systems with as many checkpoints, securities, counter-signatures, affidavits, stamped papers, notary publics, and attestations as possible so as to prevent the possibility of fraud.
Interestingly, it is this approach which lends itself not just to delays and frustration but also to a greater number of frauds.
There are three other reasons which make a principal contribution to this malice. One is simply a question of industrial engineering, time and study, and queuing analysis. Even a rudimentary application of these subjects can reduce many miles of misery for the poor customer. Inadequate training and motivation of lower staff, coupled with the top managers isolated from the real rush of the maddening crowd, creates just the right recipe for unresponsive customer service.
Finally, some may argue that the confusion of the state sector organisations is a carefully and deliberately designed phenomenon so as to enable the managers concerned to frequently intervene and make decisions on a case-to-case basis, depending upon what a case may have to offer.
There is no easy way to break the habits acquired over many decades. This impasse must nevertheless be broken at all costs. As a first step, the government should get independent customer satisfaction surveys for each department and service that it offers. Next it should ask these departments to significantly reduce the customer waiting times, number of customer visits for a service and the number of windows of transactions to which a customer is exposed.
Another basic step would be to say simply and exactly, on a large board outside each office, how a service is provided, and to provide it exactly in the same manner. Touts and middlemen operating in front of each government office can be firmly dispensed with, as their backdoor interventions hinder the establishment of normal processes.
Finally, the performance of a state sector service-providing organisation and the promotion of its bosses should be made dependent on their customer satisfaction ratings determined each year by independent bodies against continually increasing targets.
ABDUL JABBAR MEMON
Karachi
WITH reference to P. Harimohan’s letter on the subject (June 22), the correspondent wonders as to why neither the grandson nor the great grandsons of Jinnah have staked their claim to the former Jinnah residence in Mumbai.
It should be noted that Jinnah migrated to Pakistan at the time of partition. As per the understanding reached between the two divided countries, all assets of the persons leaving the country became evacuee trust properties to be managed and/or distributed to the evacuees arriving into the respective country. The Jinnah residence, however, was never given to any one and, hence, remained an evacuee trust property.
Dina Wadia and her family did claim the ancestral property. The case has been pending with the Indian Government for several years. I believe, though am not certain, that her daughter and grandson filed a legal instrument in the Indian legal system. The Pakistan government has also tried in vain for decades to get possession of the property.
I believe the reason that the property was not disposed of as evacuee property was the wish Mr Jinnah had expressed, before leaving India for good, to return to his beloved house and his beloved city Bombay in the future. Some of his friends also mentioned that he had wished to be buried in Bombay after his death. As we know, Mr Jinnah never set foot in India after the creation of Pakistan.
The house once built and lived in by Mr Jinnah witnessed many gatherings of the mightiest and most powerful personalities of the subcontinent. Today it is in a bad state and will require a major uplift to be habitable.
PRIYAKANT PATEL
Atlanta, USA
THIS is with reference to the letters entitled ‘Shining Pakistan’ (June 22) that were written by Yasir Jumani, Taimur Khan, and Urooj Hussein. All three writers had almost the same thing to say. They said that although our country is developing very fast, the problems of poverty, illiteracy and unemployment still remain and they affect millions. Our leaders have been boasting about shiny figures like 8.4 per cent growth rate but the reality is that millions are still suffering.
These gentlemen seem to believe that a revolutionary leader like Bhutto will come to power and solve the problem of poverty with his mighty magic wand.
They believe that poverty, unemployment and illiteracy can be wiped off the face of Pakistan in just a day, or perhaps at most a week. This is utterly ridiculous.
Poverty and unemployment are issues that take many decades to come into control. In France youth unemployment stands at a staggering 20 per cent. Even in the United States many people are homeless. In India 500m people live below the poverty line. Such matters may even take centuries to heal.
What the people should do is to work with the government for a better future. Poverty and unemployment figures have already improved slightly, and this is a positive trend for any economy. Political squabbling, hand-picking and blaming will not solve our problems.
FAIZAN IDREES
Lahore
I WAS very disappointed to read the views of Mr.Hayat Malick about Imran Khan (June 22) and saddened that such a letter was allowed to be printed. However, as Mr Hayat has been allowed to express his views, I hope you will also consider printing my counter arguments.
Mr Malick considers Imran Khan’s role in politics disappointing, but he does not elaborate on the reasons for his opinion. Imran Khan is an optimist and idealist. He is in the opposition and it is his job to highlight the failures of the government.
Cricket is totally irrelevant to politics, but cricket is a team game and it was Pakistan that won the World Cup. I do not think that Imran Khan has ever denied the role Miandad played in the victory.
It is absurd to say the Gen. Musharraf helped and supported Imran Khan against Nawaz Sharif. Imran Khan is a true gentleman and does not let personal victimisation interfere with national interests.
Regarding Gen Musharraf’s offer to become PM, I believe the reason for Imran Khan’s refusal is that he does not want to become part of a system in which the people around him are either inept or corrupt. He wants to revolutionise the system with the help of people.
I doubt the veracity of the claims regarding Gen. Musharraf’s involvement with the SKMT and I think the land for the Karachi hospital was procured by the SKMT itself.
Also, Gen Musharraf is not a king who can bestow leadership on any person. The bane of our ruling elite is that they consider Gen Musharraf to be their ‘helping hand’, while he in turn considers America to be his.
SALMAN A. BUGVI
Karachi
THE condition of power supply system has created a lot of problems for everyone in Karachi. The matter is also not that simple that it can be resolved overnight. However, we have to cope up with the situation amicably with the joint efforts of the public and the utility company.
The best thing to do under these circumstances is to build a confidence between the parties concerned. The following steps can help to ease out the situation to some extent.
At present, when the power is switched off, nobody knows whether it is a planned shutdown or a breakdown. This leaves the public in a state of confusion. It would ease up the situation a lot if the nature of disruption is truthfully made known to the public either on TV or on the KESC website. Knowing the span of disruption, one can plan out his activities accordingly. Even in case of having no electricity , one can manage to get this information from elsewhere.
The planned shutdowns should also be made known on TV so that daily routine is planned accordingly. At present, the KESC does give notices in newspapers but not too many people read them. Best would be to hire a few minutes on some channel for this interaction. This would go a long way in easing up the tension of uncertainty.
People should be given all importance they deserve. We should tell a common man that it a tedious phase and we have to work together to lessen the impact of the problem. Any extension project will take time. Conserving energy is the best action under the circumstances. It should start from the higher-ups having five airconditioners at their disposal rather than a poor man operating one bulb and a fan.
Loadshedding should be restricted only up to 11pm so that everyone can have a reasonable sleep before coming for job next day. A late-night power failure leaves the whole night as a nightmare.
I have myself worked in a German company managing the affairs at the moment. Their capabilities are beyond doubt. The only thing needed is to have the teamwork spirit generated among the staff, respect their capabilities and brief them about their deficiencies in a respectful and loving way. After all, these are the people who are the best ones at the moment to keep the system running. Only what they need is a pat on their shoulders.
DILAWAR HUSAIN
Karachi
ANYONE living or working in Islamabad would agree that parking is becoming a big problem in the city, especially in the areas around the Blue Area which is the financial and commercial hub of Islamabad. Although there are parking areas available in the Blue Area, the number of vehicles fighting for space has greatly increased.
Another problem is the autonomous bodies like Nepra and certain large companies which have put up security guards and barricaded areas and claimed them as reserved parking. To my knowledge, this is contrary to any law.
It would be greatly appreciated if the CDA would take up this matter, clear these illegal encroachments on public parking and perhaps also levy penalties for such action.
AAZAR HAMEED
Islamabad
IN his column ‘Crying will not help’, Ardeshir Cowasjee aptly describes President Musharraf as one who is “neither a thief nor a fundo. He enjoys life and worries about what is to happen in this world and not in the hereafter.”
In fact, the world hereafter looks after him. He has escaped three sure attempts on his life. Great presidents like Lincoln or Kennedy could not escape even one. President Musharraf is definitely an extremely lucky person — destined to achieve something great.
LT-COL (r) J.J.K TAJIK
Quetta
RETIRED people in military and civil services are getting extensions, depriving those who are on the waiting list for promotion.
It is also increasing unemployment, against the tall claim of the government that unemployment and poverty have been reduced. A friend told me that ‘retd’ actually stands for ‘re-employed till death’.
ZAFARUL HAQ MEMON
Karachi
WHY do retired armed forces personnel insist on using their former titles in correspondence, as is noticed in many letters to the editor? It seems their name is not enough and they have to drag the whole military institution behind them for the rest of their lives.
This practice seems to be prevalent in Pakistan and we all know why, but isn’t it time when we put an end to this? Maybe the press should be the starting point.
Just stop putting their former titles in your news reports; in the long run you will save both ink and paper, and at the same time do a service to the environment and the people.
FAISAL SIDDIQUI
Edmonton, Canada
APROPOS of the news item ‘Extension of vacation in schools resented’ (May 10), I would like to share my concerns regarding the decay creeping rapidly into our educational system attributed to the apathy and callous negligence of the officials at the helms of federal and provincial educational departments.
One shudders to imagine the plight of those parents who are facing immense difficulties in meeting the rising cost of education of their children. School fees and utilities bills go together resulting in ever-increasing number of dropouts.
In a whole academic year the students hardly get working days equal to four or so months . Surprised? Here is the illustration. Two weekly holidays make about four months. Add to it summer/winter vacation of three months plus one additional month to cover Muharram and two Eid festivals, anniversaries of saints and poets, strikes, rains, road jams due to VVIP movements and, above all, occasional gifts awarded by way of school closures announced by some provincial minister or the governor to celebrate our good (or not so good) performance in sports activity.
Is it not lamentable that parents are made to pay school fees for full one year in return for actual period of four months of training? And what they are taught at schools? An endless homework is given to them to complete the prescribed course with the help of their parents during these long breaks.
I feel pity at the sight of a child carrying helplessly his heavy schoolbag of a weight equal to his own, which reflects the load of education increasing by weight and eroding in values. It can be safely predicted that the education in this country is headed for the doom sooner than expected if conditions available on the ground are allowed to continue unchecked.
A. RAUF SOZER
Karachi
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