Distorted monsoon priorities

August 6th, 2012

The priorities of our decision-makers are odd; indeed, in some cases are almost impossible to understand. Despite suffering the most terrible flood havoc over the past two years, the Government of Sindh has only allocated Rs500 million for disaster management, even though the meteorological office has forecasted a 15 per cent possibility of more monsoon rains, in a province that is still recovering from past disasters. This illogical and potentially dangerous anomaly has been pointed out by the Peoples Accountability Commission on Floods (PACF), which has noted that the most minimal amounts have been allocated for contingency planning and humanitarian relief, despite the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) warning that nine districts in Sindh — out of a total of 29 in the country — could be prone to rain disaster.

Sindh had been allocated a total development budget of Rs231 billion. The NDMA had recommended that each province spend at least Rs5 billion on disaster management. Sindh’s decision to ignore this advice opens up considerable dangers for its people. The lack of disaster preparedness in the country has been a long-standing problem with various organisations over the past year, since the last floods, pointing out the lack of sufficient readiness to manage disaster in the country. It seems that like the Sindh government, we are far too willing to leave everything to fate, rather than to set things in place in advance so that catastrophe can be averted. The PACF report also notes a failure to repair irrigation systems and banks lining canals, which contributed to the large-scale losses suffered last year. For now, we can only hope this neglect will not lead to still greater ruin in the coming monsoon.

The PACF’s recommendations are sensible. It has suggested a distinct amount be set aside for disaster management. This makes sense in a country like ours, where the forces of nature so often conspire against people. But we also need to convince rulers of the need to do more, to think ahead and to recognise that disaster can strike at any minute. This realisation is still not there, leaving us exposed to more risks against which we must build safeguards.

Skulls and crossbones

August 6th, 2012

In this day and age, it is difficult to conjure up visions of pirates or of ships seized by them. The entire notion, with its imagery involving the Jolly Roger and men with swords and patches over their eyes, seems to belong to a different time, a far older age or to classic novels such as Treasure Island set in those times.

Yet, for the seven Pakistani crew members of the Malaysian vessel, the MV Albedo, who returned to Karachi on August 2 after being taken captive by Somali pirates in November 2010, piracy on the high seas remains a chilling reality. A ransom of $1.1 million was reportedly paid for the crew members, raised mainly by their families and donors.

It is unclear if the Pakistan government contributed any money for the release of the men, with no clear information being given out. This is, perhaps, understandable given the risk of future action by pirates who have become the scourge of the seas around Somalia. Right now, Bangladeshi, Indian, Sri Lankan, Iranian and Iraqi nationals remain trapped on the ship, located a short distance off the Somalian Coast.

Victims of pirates have often described their ordeal of being held by sometimes abusive pirates. It is hard to imagine what it must be like to be held week after week, year after year, in such grim circumstances fraught with constant peril. We can only rejoice with the men, from Karachi and elsewhere in the country — finally reunited with their families, including at least one child born during his father’s long absence. But rather than labelling the Somalis strictly as villains, there is a need to take a broader perspective: piracy in the region was triggered largely by giant trawlers from Europe and the Middle East moving into Somali waters, often illegally, and leaving entire fishing villages destitute as their ‘catch’ vanished. The lawlessness in Somalia adds to the hazards. These issues need to be looked at if the piracy issue is to be solved and others are to be saved from the same fate as those recently rescued.

Bureaucratic misuse

August 6th, 2012

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has sought a report on the alleged misuse of a $61 million World Bank loan allotted to the bureaucracy for human resource development. The loan for ‘capacity building’ was allegedly used by senior bureaucrats for their vacations under the pretext of ‘training’. “This is the one poor country where millions of dollars are spent just on pleasure trips of bureaucrats,” said PAC Chairman Nadeem Afzal Chan. The beneficiaries of this capacity building programme did not feel the need to disclose what they learnt from their training as there was no clause that required an assessment report. Such is the ‘efficiency’ of our bureaucrats who are notorious for red-tapism and being overtly ‘thorough’. But when it comes to hiding their own corruption, they come up with all sorts of excuses. This is a stinging indictment of our bureaucracy.

Pakistan ranks high on the list of corrupt countries but corruption is a malaise that afflicts every institution of this country and is not just limited to politicians. Some would say that the level of corruption in the bureaucracy is far higher than elsewhere in Pakistan. The military is the most powerful institution of Pakistan but the bureaucracy does not lag behind and it has become an attitude rather than a functioning hand. The scourge of red-tapism contributes to the perpetual delays in the implementation of projects. The bureaucracy seems to have become part of the problem rather than serving as a facilitator to speed up development.

It is welcome to see the PAC taking up the issue with the Establishment Division and investigating the abuse of grants. For a smooth functioning system, we need honest and hardworking bureaucrats; not those who think they can get away with plundering the country’s resources without being held accountable. A corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy has caused many problems countrywide. It is time to make the bureaucrats accountable for their misdeeds.