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ONE can only pity the ministers who are struggling to defend an increasingly dysfunctional government plagued by a culture of complacency and with no signs of serious accountability for ineptitude. The crisis of governance has been further demonstrated by the government’s handling of the worsening energy crisis. Petroleum supplies may have been restored after an agonising week of long queues at petrol pumps. But who is responsible for what was perhaps the worst oil crisis in the country’s history?
Heads have rolled, but only of a few bureaucrats who make for convenient scapegoats. They were sacked even before an investigation into the fiasco was ordered. Both the petroleum and finance ministers have, however, been given clean chits in what appears to be a royal cover-up.
Transparency and accountability are two central pillars of good governance. Yet both are in short supply in our political culture. Governments would have fallen in any other country for this kind of incompetence, but of course this does not happen in Pakistan.
Instead, the finance minister smells a conspiracy behind the petroleum crisis. Surely what could be a more convenient excuse to hide one’s incompetence? The petroleum minister has come out with an even more ingenious rationalisation, blaming a huge spike in demand for the shortage. It did not require rocket science to see this coming after the ban on CNG in Punjab and falling petroleum prices.
There is no answer as to how the minister was oblivious to the fast falling stocks when the warning had already been issued. How could the government possibly be unaware of the PSO defaulting on their letter of credit and banks refusing to open new LCs? So who was conspiring against whom? Surely an old party loyalist the petroleum minister is beyond any accountability. And of course who can touch the all-powerful minister of finance.
Transparency and accountability are in short supply in our political culture.
This is just a small glimpse of unaccountable governance. This is not the first time we have witnessed this kind of cover-up of a major scandal. There is no tradition or culture in the government or other institutions of the state to accept responsibility for any mistake or wrongdoing let alone being held accountable. The more powerful you are, the more unaccountable it makes you.
Since returning to power, this government has lurched from one crisis to the next — mostly of its own making. Yet there has not been any process of rectifying wrongs. Therefore, it was not surprising to see incompetence exacerbating a solvable problem, causing it to become a crisis as seen last week. The power sector is yet another example of the government’s ineptitude. The situation seems to have worsened instead of improving, despite the government’s claim of massive investment.
Yet there seems to be little realisation by the government how its lacklustre response to the critical issues has impacted on its legitimacy. Even the growing public anger has failed to shake the government out of its complacency.
A major reason for this lack of accountability is the concentration of power within a family and a group of cronies with a weak system of checks and balances. Complete power rests with the prime minister and party discipline means there is little challenge to government directions.
Isn’t it shocking that Ishaq Dar is heading more than three dozen committees, most of them outside his ministry — from electoral reform to heading the team negotiating with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf? Apparently the reason for the prime minister’s absolute trust in him is that he’s part of the family. Being spread thin and pulled in all directions, it is not surprising that the finance minister appeared unaware of the impending petroleum crisis.
Still the responsibilities are not to be shared as the prime minister cannot find anyone else trustworthy enough despite an overwhelming majority in parliament. No one in the party dares to question the prime minister’s decision or his priorities. In fact, there is hardly any formal party forum to discuss policies. There is a complete lack of interest in parliament. Leave aside the prime minister, even cabinet ministers are seldom seen in the house; they show no interest in legislation.
A weak and lacklustre opposition inside parliament too has adversely affected the much-needed oversight of the functioning of government. There has not been any substantive debate in parliament on the government’s handling or mishandling of the energy problem, which is directly affecting the people and more importantly the economy.
Accountability has also suffered due to the weakening of institutional decision-making processes. Politicisation of the bureaucracy and cronyism has hugely affected professionalism of civilian institutions. Civil servants are supposed to serve the interest of the ruling party instead of that of the state. The deterioration of the civil service is alarming and this also affects overall governance.
The imperative to improve transparency and accountability has become more urgent driven by the need to address critical issues of governance and corruption with far too few checks on the government. Governments that are truly accountable can more effectively fight corruption that involves the use of positions of power or privilege as well as to improve governance. Indeed, corruption happens in all systems of government, and democracies are not immune. Still, democracies have several advantages in dealing with those problems.
One advantage is that elected representatives in a democracy have a direct relationship with the electorate, whose votes should encourage the members to act more prudently in representing the interest of the public. But in a system so deeply based on patronage it seems more challenging if not impossible to improve transparency and the process of accountability.
The government still has more than three years to complete its term and all is not lost provided it learns from its mistakes. It requires ruthless accountability starting from the top if governance is to be improved. It, however, remains to be seen if the prime minister is willing to come out of the family cocoon and shed his inertia. Is it asking for too much?
The writer is an author and journalist.
Published in Dawn January 28th, 2015
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