No proof of perceived corruption
From the Blog PkColumnist.com: No proof of perceived corruption - Consistent suo motu actions by the judiciary, Transparency International's (TI) raising of Pakistan's rank as a corrupt country and the media howling fiduciary murder every few days is rattling the PPP. The prime minister recently said words to the effect of "prove it!" Add to that the president's belief that the entire game is orchestrated against them. Further, dollop some hollow intent to take Transparency International to task legally. But Yousaf Raza Gilani's gambit makes sense because he knows for a fact that it's hard to prove corruption in Pakistan. Historically, the government has never been open; documents are hard to get a hold of. In addition, the executive falls into line easily, preventing different departments from acting in collaboration to prove anything, something the current judiciary knows all too well. The next gambit, which is to soil a media group's reputation ( Geo / Jang ), is aimed to discredit a consistent source of allegations. The Supreme Court has proven ineffective in its judgments simply because it cannot get orders executed. So what is left, largely, is the perception of corruption, which the PPP has taken no action to address. But does perception matter? For example, a good deal of how Transparency International ranks corrupt countries is based, ultimately, on some form of perception. Does that discredit what they say because it is, by definition, without proof? It doesn't, because of the paradox of "proof" oriented corruption. Countries where corruption is proven and action is taken are not really corrupt because mechanisms exist to address them. Corrupt countries are those where people feel there is massive corruption, yet it remains unproven in courts of law because no court of law is an oasis to the society that breeds it. Still, that doesn't prevent Babar Awan from labelling Transparency International "anti-democratic". That's misleading because scores on the TI index are essentially aggregations from other sources of expert opinions and organisations, with large monitoring and evaluation systems for countries like the EU and the World Bank amongst many others. Other tools are used too and, like all methodologies, it is open to criticism. There are non-monetised acts of corruption that ultimately lead to pilfering. So, while the government did an excellent job with the 18th Amendment, ultimately it bore no fruit because the president still calls the shots as co-chairperson of the PPP. The head legal honcho, Babar Awan, uses the law ultimately to create abeyance as opposed to enforcement. Be it Chinese locomotives , rental power projects or a parliament full of legislators with fraudulent papers filed for election. A belief of overriding corruption has tangible outcomes. So, even if the government reduces the number of ministries, the act is seen as a token effect of foreign pressure and not reformed intent. It causes an effective paralysis of government, for even good initiatives are met with suspicion. It hurts the economy; foreign direct investment is curtailed because firms become apprehensive. Rather than attacking the institutions articulating already negative perceptions, the PPP needs to address them itself. Ultimately, what it will see is that the perception is rooted in the way they do business, which is poor and clique driven. That's what needs to change. The PPP has always gotten a rough ride at the hands of the establishment, but this time the establishment doesn't have to work as hard at it. When Rehman Malik says corruption is to be finished within a week in government departments, we know it's hollow. Statements are not fiat. Maybe he should start with one of the prime minister's favourites, as detailed in a report in The News . Syed Khalid Mehmood Bokhari from Multan is a director at the Intellectual Property Organisation (IPO) – which gives legal protection to patents, trademarks and intellectual property preventing piracy – who has non-transparently hired officers in the organisation, and illegally taken his wife on foreign trips under the false guise of being the head of a publication. But the kicker is that when the reporter asked Syed Bokhari what his qualifications were to hold the position of director, he replied, "because I am an intellectual". I don't know what the legalities are, but chalk up another mark for the perception of corruption, or at least cronyism. . Read Full Post
Wateen Posts Revenue of Rs. 1,931 Million For The First Quarter of 2010/11
From the Blog Telecom News Bulletin: Wateen Posts Revenue of Rs. 1,931 Million For The First Quarter of 2010/11 - Wateen Telecom Limited has recently announced its results for the first quarter of 2010/11. It has posted revenue of Rs. 1,931 million with Rs. 383m positive EBITDA against a EBITDA loss of Rs. 110 million for the same period last year. Since the last quarter of 2010, Wateen is continuously showing a positive trend in terms of revenues and profitability. Wateen is capitalizing its unique strategic position as nationwide optic fiber operator, system integrator, broadband services provider and key LDI operator all under one umbrella. . Read Full Post
SkyFire for iPhone coming this Thursday, will let...
From the Blog geekword - > SkyFire for iPhone coming this Thursday, will let... geekword.net — The title of the post will make you think that this is a joke but believe me folks this isn't the case. Stick to the end of the post and you will know how and why Skyfire for iPhone made through the App Store's strict review process. Know this, the mobile browser has the capability... . Read Full Post
Netflix streaming comes to Windows Phone 7 and Xbox...
From the Blog sizlopedia - > Netflix streaming comes to Windows Phone 7 and Xbox... sizlopedia.com — . Read Full Post
Skyfire for iPhone: Releasing on Thursday for $2.99
From the Blog SizzledCore - > Skyfire for iPhone: Releasing on Thursday for $2.99 sizzledcore.com — Skyfire for iPhone has been approved by Apple, and it will soon be available for download from the App Store for $2.99. Flash support? Yes, it also comes with partial Flash support that allows you to watch videos from most of the popular video sharing websites i.e YouTube, Metacafe... . Read Full Post
Indo-US punditry: Disconnect between reality, and...
From the Blog rupeenews - > Indo-US punditry: Disconnect between reality, and... rupeenews.com — Despite its parochial and communal name, The Hindu is Bharat's best newspaper, and one which is not caught up in the jingoism that is so pervasive in the Bharati media. Whichever way one looks at it, there is going to be an indeterminate fatefulness when United States President... . Read Full Post
0 comments :
Post a Comment