IT is not uncommon for politicians to resort to the use of hyperbole in order to boost their public standing. Indeed, Pakistani politicians appear to have mastered the art. But the current rulers do not realise that their words are fast losing their lustre because they repeat the same thing countless times. For example, first, they continually tried to reassure citizens that a few ‘friendly’ Gulf countries planned to invest $100bn in the country within five years. This, they claimed, would change the nation’s economic landscape. The number has since shrunk to a few billion dollars. Now they say that the World Bank’s promised $20bn investment under its new long-term Country Partnership Framework will address Pakistan’s troubles related to climate change, stunting, learning, and inclusive development. But while doing so, they hide the fact that the number is an ‘indicative’ one and hinges on the funds available with the lender over the plan’s 10-year life and, more crucially, the implementation of reforms that our elites continue to resist.
On Monday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used his meeting with a visiting World Bank team to repeat for the umpteenth time that the yet-to-arrive inflow of ‘$40bn investment’ from the bank reflected confidence in his policies, and would open a ‘new chapter’ in various sectors. Clearly, he did not realise how hollow such routine political rhetoric sounds to the people; such words have lost their lustre for those struggling to survive. Any investment in areas critical to the development of human capital must be welcomed, given our enormous financial needs. But no such investment, no matter how big, can make the desired, sustained impact without social sector reforms. Can a nation make economic progress when four out of every 10 of its children suffer from stunting? Have policymakers wondered how much people without skills or education can contribute to economic productivity? Foreign loans and grants can do only so much. If the social sector is to be fixed, and a healthy, literate and skilled manpower developed, the government will have to restructure its policies. Unless it shifts its focus from brick-and-mortar projects to human development, no number of grants and loans can help the economy make impactful and sustainable headway, nor can the public’s trust be restored in politicians who promise the moon.
Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2025
