IF any further evidence was needed about the state of governance, it came in the form of the critical shortage of petrol in Punjab, the PML-N’s main political constituency.

And still worse, the government is trying to cover up the real reasons for this mishap and is trying to put the blame on a toothless regulatory body — Ogra — which has been virtually made dysfunctional by the frequent, uncalled for interventions by successive governments.

The regulatory bodies came into being to, particularly, protect consumer’s interest following the privatisation of state enterprises. But they were never allowed to work independently by governments, which succumbed to special interests. The PML-N government went a step ahead in making the regulatory bodies more dysfunctional by avoiding or delaying the filling up top slots.

While the PML-N leadership is keen to move ahead rapidly with privatisation, it does not want a strong regulatory body to mediate between the producer and the consumer. If Ogra was allowed to function independently, it could have been held responsible for the oil marketing companies not holding the mandatory 20-day stock of oil in a falling market. The shortage would probably not have been so severe and so prolonged even if the PSO’s supplies had been choked for want of enough funds eroded by circular debt.

It is time that the government concede autonomy to regulatory bodies to which they are legally eligible.

The common reaction of the people, as aired by the electronic media, was that they were being denied essentials like water, electricity, gas, and now petrol. Some feared if petrol supplies were not restored promptly, the transport system would be disrupted and supplies of food items like pulses, vegetables and fruits may also be affected.

While many lament the declining development spending by the cash-strapped government on education, health and physical infrastructure, the government is also failing in its primary duty to manage the supply of essential items that have been a part of the daily life of citizens for decades. The government has also failed, like its predecessors, in providing security of life and property to the common man. Apparently, all is not well with the state of affairs in the government.

The underlying real issue is that the government is trying to tackle inherited crises in a manner that has been tried, tested and failed. The out-of-the-box thinking that could resolve major problems afflicting the economy is missing

Instead of pinpointing the lapses in decision-making, identifying the real causes and promptly resolving the crisis, federal ministers have found a convenient opportunity to indulge in a blame game, and the interior minister holds the government solely responsible for the big mishap. The prime minister has sacked senior bureaucrats of the petroleum ministry and suspended PSO’s managing and deputy managing directors for their negligence in ensuring 20 days of strategic stock.

From the statements issued by different federal ministers, it seems that the PML-N government is a house divided against itself. It is not a good omen for any move to strengthen a weakening writ of the government.

The unmanageable fiscal deficit leaves no space for doing much for the common good. This is breeding social tension and giving rise to renewed calls for building a ‘new Pakistan’ — initially raised by Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto after the separation of the country’s eastern wing — in order to build a federal, democratic and egalitarian state. The slogan of ‘roti, kapra and makaan’ is still alive in the country’s politics.

The PML-N government seems to be losing its grip on governance. For the past one year or more, it has not been able to do away with, or even reduce significantly, the circular debt in the energy sector. It has also failed to make a dent in the long persisting electricity crisis. Slowly and gradually it has surfaced that it is incapable of delivering on its promises, even in areas where it was initially thought it would make a difference, like in the field of privatisation.

Privatisation Commission Chairman Mohammad Zubair informed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar last Tuesday that in the immediate future, the PC would focus on disinvestment of government shares in HBL, Discos and some other state enterprises. No significant progress has been made so far towards restructuring PIA or Pakistan Steel Mills for their privatisation. And the current state of affairs at PSO would hardly attract any investor. The easiest thing to do is to sell the government’s stakes in already privatised units, and that is what the PC is doing.

The underlying real issue is that it is trying to tackle inherited crises in a manner that has been tried, tested and failed. The out-of-the-box thinking that could resolve major problems afflicting the economy is missing.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has focused more on mobilisation of foreign capital, while the worsening issues in the domestic economy are far more serious and perhaps demand an undivided attention of the government for resolving them. After all, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif cancelled his trip to Davos because of the petrol-supply crisis. He has done the right thing to set up a cell in the ministry of petroleum to monitor the supply chain and manage smooth flow of oil to the arteries of the market. Perhaps it would be better if the government could set up a permanent cell in the Prime Minister’s House for monitoring supplies and prices of all essential items to provide much-needed relief to the common man.

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, January 26th , 2015

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