Friday, March 29, 2024
03:48 PM (GMT +5)

Go Back   CSS Forums > General > News & Articles

News & Articles Here you can share News and Articles that you consider important for the exam

Reply Share Thread: Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook     Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter     Submit Thread to Google+ Google+    
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread
  #1  
Old Friday, July 16, 2010
Nek Muhammad's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Pakistan
Posts: 373
Thanks: 86
Thanked 440 Times in 208 Posts
Nek Muhammad is a jewel in the roughNek Muhammad is a jewel in the roughNek Muhammad is a jewel in the rough
Arrow Partners in social uplift by Zahid Abdullah.

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.
__________________
"There is voice that doesn't use words listen"
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Developmental psychology by sarfraz ahmad mayo sarfrazmayo Psychology 2 Tuesday, July 16, 2013 11:33 PM
Social Studies an overview Naseer Ahmed Chandio Sociology 1 Thursday, August 26, 2010 09:19 PM
Marketing- as a motive of social change obaid Topics and Notes 1 Saturday, December 30, 2006 02:35 PM


CSS Forum on Facebook Follow CSS Forum on Twitter

Disclaimer: All messages made available as part of this discussion group (including any bulletin boards and chat rooms) and any opinions, advice, statements or other information contained in any messages posted or transmitted by any third party are the responsibility of the author of that message and not of CSSForum.com.pk (unless CSSForum.com.pk is specifically identified as the author of the message). The fact that a particular message is posted on or transmitted using this web site does not mean that CSSForum has endorsed that message in any way or verified the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message. We encourage visitors to the forum to report any objectionable message in site feedback. This forum is not monitored 24/7.

Sponsors: ArgusVision   vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.