Partners in social uplift by Zahid Abdullah.
 

[B]Notwithstanding the perennial cynicism most of us are afflicted with, our politicians, generals and bureaucrats can get their act together and deliver. Of course some of the generals have transgressed and tried to govern the country, some of the politicians have hobnobbed with the generals and some of the bureaucrats have acquiesced to the illegal demands of the rulers. Failures in their respective domains are many and much-talked-about. Dwelling upon them often leads to a blame-game which has no role in taking the country forward.

In this prevailing doom and gloom, what we need to remember is that the men in uniform have given the ultimate sacrifices for the country, while politicians and political workers and bureaucrats have faced hardships, especially those who took a stand on principles. In other words, we have well-disciplined and well-trained armed forces because of our generals, a bureaucracy because of our bureaucrats and democracy because of our politicians. These are holding together a country with federating units belonging to diverse nationalities.

We need to build upon this, because the army, the bureaucracy and democracy are not ends in themselves, but means for the protection and wellbeing of the common man. So far, the wellbeing of the common man has been the outcome of the efforts of generals, politicians and bureaucrats, who are jealously protecting their respective institutional interests.

The growing number of uneducated and malnourished Pakistanis struggling for survival on a daily basis is not in the best interest of the generals, the politicians and the bureaucrats. A solution-oriented structured dialogue amongst the players of these three entities, aimed at using the available resources for the wellbeing of the common man, is the need of the hour. In other words, the civil-military relationship needs to be redefined and turned into a civil-military partnership. Let us analyse why it needs to be done.

Under the existing arrangements, the weakest groups of society get the least from budgetary allocations each fiscal year, and what is actually spent is far less than what is allocated. Every year the national budget allocates far less than what is actually required for the educational and healthcare needs of Pakistanis. Every year demands for the release of promised funds are lost in the corridors of the ministry of finance, which is more receptive to the stronger voices.

Furthermore, increases in education and health-sector budgetary allocations are nominal, and not in real terms. In 2009-10, the government reduced the original current allocation of Rs627.7 billion for the education sector to Rs591 billion. Similarly, in 2010-11, the total development budget of the education division is Rs5 billion, compared to the Rs8 billion allocated in 2009-10. However, the original allocation of Rs8 billion in 2009-10 had been subsequently reduced to Rs5.5 billion. Hence, the development allocation for 2010-11 is significantly less than in 2009-10, especially when inflation is taken into account.

The current budget of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has been increased from Rs21.5 billion to Rs23.2 billion, which is a nominal increase of 7.8 per cent. This is also insignificant in view of the high inflation rate prevailing in the country. The current budget for universities under the HEC has been increased only by 4 per cent, from Rs12.795 billion to Rs13.313 billion. The increase in the current allocation of technical universities is only 3 per cent. This means that the budget has actually been significantly decreased in real terms as the inflation rate is over 12 per cent.

The total current budget allocation for the health sector for 2010-11 is Rs5.436 billion, against Rs4.913 billion in 2009-10. This is an increase of 10.6 per cent, which is also nominal. Within the overall health budget, the current allocation for the public health was increased from Rs407 million in 2009-10 to Rs450 million in 2010-11. The increase in the budget of medical services is also nominal, having increased from Rs4.258 billion to Rs4.698 billion–a rise of 10 per cent. This is again below the prevailing inflation rate, and actually means a decrease in real terms. The total development budget of the health sector in 2010-11 is Rs16.9 billion, as against Rs23.2 billion allocated in 2009-10. This is a substantial decrease, especially if we discount the impact of inflation as well.

The ground realities necessitate a civil-military partnership for social-sector uplift. The idea may sound odd to both the generals and the politicians. However, the educational and healthcare needs of poor Pakistanis cannot continue to be sacrificed until the day our politicians are able to exercise civilian supremacy over the defence budget. Similarly, no matter how much funds the nation may allocate for defence, the requirement is a bottomless pit.

Generals can definitely divert precious billion for the social sector by making the military machine more efficient, without compromising on the legitimate requirements for the protection of the country’s territorial integrity. They can demand that the politicians and the bureaucrats spend funds thus diverted on health and education.[/B]