Monkeys on our back
From the Blog Farrukh Khan Pitafi: Monkeys on our back - We live in angry times. Everyone in my country is angry. Everyone in the US is angry. And, of course, everybody everywhere else is angry too. The biggest question today is: why? In Pakistan we, of course, have a lot to complain about. Things are getting more and more expensive. With interest rates so high, there is seldom any genuine economic activity and the conflicts between the government and its demons seem never to end. In the US, the Tea Party movement is frightening people with the perils of big government. If the mid-term elections are any indication, President Obama is no more that lucky, no longer the man who spoke of hope as if he could pull this precious commodity out of his pocket. He sure has more challenging times ahead. It still remains to be seen whether he will get bogged down or bounce back. However, since he is one of those who thrive during the hour of challenge, we can say with confidence that he will do better. The nature of checks and balances in the US is such that, perhaps, the Congress or House were expected to go to the Republicans and, maybe, this is not such a bad deal for democracy. However, let us focus now on the issues at hand. Inflation is getting out of hand and the government seems helpless on the real issues. As the purchasing capacity of a common man on the street falls, the government has failed to impose the Value Added Tax (VAT) or the reformed General Sales Tax (GST). While the concerns of the provinces on its collection is understandable, I do not understand why this tax bothers others, for what is it but further reform in the way tax is collected. And yet I have not seen any government, even if it wants to, succeed in imposing the tax. In fact, I have never seen a government that speaks in so many distinct and conflicting voices. VAT or reformed GST we know is not merely needed to placate the International Monetary Fund, which still has to release the last tranche of the Standby Arrangement to us. This country definitely needs reform in its tax net and revenue collection capacity. But somehow we tend to forget this. In a nation where we should be concerned with economic development and creating new opportunities for the disenfranchised, we are busy playing power poker. Watching television discussions on the major issues of Pakistan, and often being part of them, is a strange experience. I often wonder why we do not focus on actual issues like the economy. Even when we do, we are always so conceited about the real state of affairs. Often it is argued that the country's economy can be stabilised without following the IMF's dictates. Nobody realises that if that were the case, the economy would have been stabilised by now. 63 years, after all, is a long time to prove such hypotheses. If it has not been done despite all grand gestures and statements, it is safe to conclude it cannot be done. And when you ask either the government or the opposition MPs about this, they start narrating the tales of the past. You ask about delivery on relief promises and they end up talking about nuclear detonations and the war on obscurantism. In the end you are left wondering what exactly is the point in asking these silly questions. Another problem with politicians is that they often take the questioner as an enemy. The media exists, it must be remembered, to bring sanity to the otherwise visible chaos in the system. If some in the media are exceeding their limits, it is an altogether different matter. I will come to media matters later; let us for now stay focused on the capacity of leaders to handle challenges without being apologetic or aggressive about their choices. It has been regularly noted that the political parties lack homework on serious national issues. Not only do they have sketchy manifestoes without much emphasis on concrete steps but also an absolute absence of policy oversight mechanisms. Parties all over the world develop research cells that apprise leaders of the most pertinent and prudential course of action. Not here sirs. Let us also talk about the opposition parties. The opposition is truly supposed to act as the conscience of the political system. Among the best practices of political parties is their capacity to form shadow cabinets with shadow ministers to maintain oversight and develop policy alternatives. Somehow, however, our political parties lack that. One reason could be that they do not want to lose the support of prospective candidates for a cabinet job by picking one person from many hopefuls. But if they can work on party organisation and discipline, they can work wonders by creating a shadow cabinet. Now let us turn to the media. It is my belief that more than the lack of a code of conduct, the real problem is the media's presumptions about the tastes of the viewer. As someone who regularly follows the ratings of different channels, I am often astounded to find people talking on air in the name of ratings. Many such people have strange assumptions about the ratings and hence the talk gets muddled. It is undoubtedly true that tastes have suffered also. Unfortunately, the news media boom came at the hour of the total demise of the entertainment industry in this country. Hence people expect drama, comedy and theatrics from talk shows. But the solution to that can be easily arranged through the cultivation of entertainment programmes. As for the talk show hosts and anchors, I am sure there are many who believe in avoiding undue sensationalism and focusing on serious national issues. Again, the absence of good research support causes many problems. We need to work on these issues or the future might get bleaker than our past and present. It is uncanny to see so many people travelling in the same direction and somehow thinking that through dishonesty and shoddy work they can isolate their fortunes from the destinies of others. A little more honesty, hard work and research can harm neither the government nor the opposition or the media. The above column first appeared in Daily Times dated November 4, 2010. Click here to visit the original. . Read Full Post
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