By: Salis Malik
Amidst the lockdown, one could not ask another major upheaval in the face of adversity, isolation and despair. However, Pakistan got caught up in another calamity – the wheat and sugar crisis – but what stirs up this predicament was an even bigger crisis in governance. It is a fact that our country was struck with the novel virus but the current shortage of commodities is not novel at all and have a definitive way of fighting them and ultimately eradicating them. What is, however, novel, is the crisis that has indefinitely plagued the governance.
Surely nepotism in all rights is a bane for the existence for a stronger economy and Imran’s government is not an exception.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision of reshuffling the federal cabinet on the verge of a flabbergasting inquiry report on the wheat and sugar crisis, was met with benumbed gazes as the whole nation was left bewitched upon the report being public. One might argue that it was the right decision by the Prime Minister but was not this a bit too late. All of us might be fond of the phrase, ‘the sooner the better’ but if this situation could have come to light sooner, there would not had been a crisis to begin with and things would have been actually better. The inquiry report dropped curtains on some very senior PTI leaders and their allies being responsible, while also indirectly pointing at some sitting ministers and their close relatives for the wheat and sugar crisis. The Prime Minister does point out that whosoever will come in the way of masses’ right, will not be tolerated and it is in effect necessary but the crisis Imran Khan faces in governance is a result of a perplexing situation within the Federal and Punjab government. Soon as time passed by, Imran Khan’s most trusted party member soon became the victims of party politics as the Prime Minister eventually began losing these trusted companions. What Khan was left with were bureaucrats and those who were not concerned with IK’s future – they were anything but true politicians. These remaining members have no constituency, no one that they had to be accountable in front of and certainly not riding on the shoulders of any voters. These members are the least bit concerned with how civilians would face a food crisis.
The report, which on paper does supposedly ‘fulfill’ a key promise made by Prime Minister Imran Khan, but it raises some very intriguing questions. It has for many reasons became a matter of debate on social media – whether the government had issued the report voluntarily or whether its hand was forced after the report was ‘leaked’ on media but when the news soon become public, actions had to be taken. The report in question had already sent shivers down the spines of many notable power lords as it named leaders of the ruling coalition, including a minister, as beneficiaries of cartelization and subsidies granted to the sugar industry. Imran Khan’s envision of a new Pakistan was just but the new flock of politicians in the shape of ‘wheat and sugar barons’ , that joined the party just to take advantage are the real reason for the crisis.
If we look at the Punjab government and there as well we will see chinks within their armor. The situation in the Punjab government is dire, where the selected ministers and cabinet member were even unsure of their own future in the beginning of their tenure. Such was the air of uncertainty surrounded these party members that they couldn’t even believe they became ministers for the first six months and as soon as they began walking on their own two feet , they got dragged in a perpetual war with bureaucracy. The level of incompetency was this that the Punjab government – despite facing a shortfall of two million tonnes in the wheat crop for the season – gave six – seven million tons to the poultry industry which resulted in disruption of supply of the commodity to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in April 2019.
What is even more baffling is that the report on sugar revealed that one of the groups JWD belonging to Jehangir Tareen, which has six sugar mills, obtained 12.28 per cent of the total export subsidy amounting to Rs 3.058 billion ever since the wake of 2015 to 2018. Such a crisis does not occur over night and are the result of constant pecking at the nation’s treasures. The foolhardy approach of the sugar advisory board is also to blame. This incompetency helped the exporters gain benefit in two ways — first, they were able to gain subsidy and second they made profit from increasing sugar prices in local markets. It is also important to note how the sugar export was rather high in years even when the production was low. Those helped accountable will surely be coughing up a lot of money. In a country brimming with dysfunctional politicians a strict procedure of transparency is much needed.
Surely nepotism in all rights is a bane for the existence for a stronger economy and Imran’s government is not an exception. It is rather very funny how the most profitable sugar barons were the government’s very own. This nepotism will never cease to exist and will carry on no matter how much one leader states they can change a nation. A country cannot be revamped into a model nation until the men standing behind and besides the leader are just as keen, intuitive and searching for betterment. Our country can never be a economic powerhouse if power-hungry politicians are going to chug at every little resources the country has.
The writer is based in Islamabad who also writes for Global Village Space and Daily Times and is working with various international and national think tanks. He can be reached at [email protected]