With the pressures of the approaching general elections, citizens’ economic security is emerging as a pivotal issue both in picking up political campaigns and in the realm of autonomous technocracy.

Economic security and people’s welfare are one and the same thing and inextricably connected, says President and CEO of Bank of Punjab Zafar Masud. He suggests that all economic policies and actions should be driven in one direction alone, that is, the prosperity and welfare of our people.

Experts have defined economic security as the ability of individuals, households and communities to meet their basic and essential needs sustainably, including food, shelter, clothing, health care, education information, livelihoods, and social protection.

In FY23, Pakistan’s retail sector grew only around half a percent compared to 6pc in FY22. And the consumers (mainly middle class) who switched from imported products to local alternatives are sticking with cheaper products even after the ban on imports was lifted, according to a market executive with intimate knowledge of the sector’s performance.

Constitutional changes are required to loosen the grip of the provinces over local governments

Policy formulation must adopt a new direction, one that is fundamentally participatory and bottom-up in nature by incorporating ordinary citizens in the decision-making process that affects their lives, says Abbas Moosvi, Research Fellow at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.

It is time to begin seeing state and society as entities that are intimately connected to one another, existing in a symbiotic relationship. This can come in wide-ranging forms, he adds, including empowering local governments (LG), non-interference in political affairs from extra-legal institutions and democratisation.

We unfairly underestimate Pakistan’s 240 million people to be devoid of positive attributes, says eminent political analyst and former federal secretary retired lieutenant general Talat Masood.

Pakistan’s biggest governance problem is the lopsided distribution of power, which also creates deficiencies in the implementation process

To quote the founder of an American research centre, Global Social Development Innovation, set up in 2017, economic security means a stable source of financial income or a productive asset that generates income, allowing individuals and households to maintain a decent way of living now and in the future.

Experts view the absence of economic income and asset poverty as the reverse of economic security. Human capital shortcomings include stunted growth of over 40pc children under five years in Pakistan, says World Bank Regional Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser. This means that the productivity of Pakistan’s large and growing workforce is significantly less than what it could be, preventing the youth, especially girls, from reaching their full potential.

Mr Raiser emphasised that to check growth in stunting, political mobilisation across all levels of governance, especially at the local level, in each tehsil is required.

Similar views are being aired in the political arena. It is time to empower people so that they can fight harsh economic conditions, says PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, highlighting the urgency of public involvement in the country’s political, economic and social spheres.

If PPP comes into power, he promises that it will issue a ‘youth card’ to help them get vocational training, jobs and access to sports facilities. The focus will be on vocational and skill training while assisting the youth with finances for a year.

Kissan Cards will be introduced to provide subsidies to farmers, and Benazir Labour Cards will be introduced to ensure the rights of workers and labourers. For example, the European Youth Card allows price reductions in shops, transport, eating out and accommodation.

Bilawal vowed not to waste energy fighting opponents rather than fight against poverty, unemployment and the worst inflation in the country.

Highlighting the importance of the local government system to involve the youth in the democratic process and provide them with training, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal pledged that his party will pass a constitutional amendment through the next parliament, ensuring that local governments do not rely on the mercy of the provincial government and have a constitutional cover.

He said his party is completely satisfied with the gist of the draft bill presented to its leaders by MQM-P, seeking constitutional amendments to politically, financially and administratively empower local bodies.

The proposed bill stipulates that the powers and authorities of the provincial government departments will shift to LGs, covering socio-economic development, urban planning, education, health, infrastructure, environment protection, agriculture, required taxation, etc.

MQM-P will also present the draft bill to other political parties to seek a consensus. For Islamabad Capital Territory, as well as Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta divisions, the draft provides that there shall be one local government for each division. For such a purpose, each division shall constitute a separate district.

In a conference organised in Karachi by MQM-P on ‘Empowered Local Government (LGs) — Strong Pakistan’, its leadership garnered the support of provincial branches of major political parties, except PPP, for constitutional changes to loosen the grip of the provinces over LGs.

The moot was also presented with a proposal that the polls to the local government before every general election be made a constitutional requirement. Analysts observe that Pakistan’s biggest governance problem is the lopsided distribution of power, which also creates deficiencies in the implementation process.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, December 11th, 2023