Little progress on MDGs

AN indicator of how low a priority human development is for the state is that there exists a special parliamentary task force on sustainable development goals. This may come as a surprise to many, including elected representatives. Even fewer may be aware that the shift to sustainable development goals — from the earlier Millennium Development Goals — has come under the present government’s so-called Vision 2025, an ambitious Planning Commission blueprint for development and economic growth that has found few takers among the country’s policy planners and decision-makers so far. The confusion and lack of interest can be gauged by the fact that a meeting of the special parliamentary task force on Tuesday, that was meant to shed light on the issue of climate change and its potential impact on Pakistan, appears to have roamed desultorily into the arena of Pakistan’s uneven and unsatisfactory performance in achieving the MDGs. Essentially, the country’s elected representatives and the state itself do not appear to have as yet grasped the basics of the huge developmentchallenge that confronts the Pakistani state and society.

Some history and context may help. When the MDGs were mooted 15 years ago, there was a great deal of hope internationally that the eight goals could be substantially met by the developing world. Pakistan has by no means been the worst performer, but it has also at no point taken the MDGs seriously enough to ensure that sustained and meaningful progress has occurred. Of the eight MDGs — eradicate extreme hunger and poverty; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental stability; and develop a global partnership for development — Pakistan has managed some progress in the so-called targets and indicators specific to each goal. But none of that progress has been adequate compared to the goals, nor is there independently verifiable data to back up the claims of progress made by the government.

The reasons are not hard to fathom: no overhaul of the bureaucracy or administration that must help achieve the goals; no restructuring of the state’s finances to free up money for investments in people-centric development; no meaningful national conversation on what people-centric security really means. In the absence of any of that, it is impossible to imagine achieving universal primary education or ensuring environmental stability. Moreover, post-18th Amendment, there is a fundamental shift in terms of responsibilities between the centre and the provinces. Virtually all of the targets and indicators underthe MDGs, and now the indicators for the sustainable development goals, are in provincial remit. There, predictably, Punjab is performing better than the rest, with Balochistan the worst off and Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa having decidedly mixed results. So far, human development has not been a priority for the provinces either, but perhaps the onset of local governments may help change that?

Islamabad LG polls

IT is quite true that were it not for the superior judiciary’s pursuance of the matter, there would be little progress on local government elections, as the political class in the provincial and national legislatures has shown scant interest in this crucial area of governance. While rushing the process or passing flawed legislation to pave the way for the polls can create new problems, an interminable delay can create complications as well. In Islamabad, a strange situation has emerged. As per the Supreme Court’s directions, the Election Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday announced the schedule for local polls in the federal capital. The polls are due to be held on July 25 while nominations will be received till June 26. But, there’s a major hitch — the relevant LG law for the capital has still not been passed by the Senate and unless the legislation is finalised, it will be very difficult to hold the polls as per schedule. Nearly all parties have criticised the announcement of the election schedule. The law, which has been passed by the National Assembly, is being reviewed by a Senate sub-committee. Those familiar withthe process say that as this is the first time local polls are being held in Islamabad, there are many unresolved questions. Among these — which emerged at public hearings — is the extent of power that elected local officials will have.

Two basic things must be kept in mind in this situation: firstly, the polls cannot be put off indefinitely and the law cannot be debated endlessly. Secondly, a badly drafted law will create major hurdles for the incoming local government. The major stakeholders — parliament and the ECP — need to reconcile both of these issues and come up with a workable solution. While the ECP should consider a fresh schedule in consultation with lawmakers, senators must also give a realistic time frame for the passage of the law. We hope the law is not delayed further so that the federal capital has an elected local government of its own soon.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2015

Heatwave deaths

EVER since the Sindh government sprung into action on the mounting death toll from the heatwave in the province, a series of absurd instructions have been pouring forth. The latest such announcements come from a late-night meeting chaired by Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, which decided on the early closure of shops, marriage halls and restaurants, a one-day government holiday, and a protest sit-in against K-Electric and the federal government. Earlier, the chief minister had ordered the closure of schools and colleges, even though it is summer holidays and most of these institutions are already shut. These measures have been used in the past to respond to a sharp deterioration in the power situation, and they have rarely ever yielded measurable results.
But what makes these announcements absurd is that they have very little to do with the deaths from heatstroke. The load-shedding situation across Sindh is very dire indeed, but the deaths from heatstroke are only marginally connected to electricity. The dead consist largely of very vulnerable people, including the poor, the elderly and day labourers, who had no awareness of the early symptoms of heatstroke or of preventive measures such as rapid rehydration with salts and covering of the head to prevent direct exposure to sunlight. The Sindh government isfocusing excessively on electricity as the cause behind the deaths, and not enough on measures that more directly deal with the cause of the deaths. Did the participants of the meeting coordinate with any of the hospitals where the heatstroke victims were being treated or with the Edhi morgue which is saying it is filled to capacity, to find out what sort of assistance they might require? Did they try to determine the identities of the victims to see which groups were particularly vulnerable and what measures could be taken to target assistance to them? Did they coordinate their energy conservation ideas with K-Electric, which might have useful suggestions about how the existing electricity in Karachi can be better utilised? Did they look into the logistics of setting up relief camps across the affected areas, particularly Karachi, with the aim of marshalling volunteers with necessary supplies? It does not appear so. All they did, it seems, was to roll out the same old tried and failed ideas from the past, and announce them with a new gusto. That will hardly work to alleviate the crisis. Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2015
http://www.dawn.com/newspaper/editorial