CONGRATULATIONS to Imran Khan. Now comes the stage to fulfill the promises — accountability being the dominant one.

During the last National Assembly session and after the oath-taking, Imran reiterated the resolve to bring back the looted money. Much appreciated. But there is another dimension of accountability which is missing within the existing edifice of governance in the country.

The government is facing serious crunch of current account and budget deficit. Inflation is expected to reach eight per cent during the current fiscal. The trade deficit is $32 billion, fall in foreign exchange reserves to $8bn, and escalation in total public debt to Rs24 trillion.

This state of affairs warrants a thorough review of our economic policy-making institutions like finance and planning in the last decade and instilling good governance reforms to alleviate the ailing situation.

The last government in the name of reforms employed their blue-eyed boys instead of applying merit on the top policymaking slots. A good example is appointment of members of planning commission in MP-I scales, who did nothing to contribute to socio-economic policymaking but truly succumbed to the whims of their political masters and received hefty emoluments.

The government should conduct a review of the socio-economic policy of the last government and identify the flaws, weaknesses and gaps at the political and tactical level to ascertain the reasons for our failing economy.

If politicians and their favourites in the form of advisers and members of planning commission and finance ministry could not bring socio-economic reforms, they must be held accountable by dismissing them and asking them to reimburse their salaries paid to them for what they could not accomplish. This way we can also bring back looted money.

Safoora
Quetta

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2018