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WEEKLY
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| A people’s zamindar budget |
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In the national interest
Monday, June 22, 2009
Kamal Siddiqi
The writer is editor reporting, The News
One can only wonder at the ways in which our government operates. Despite the fact that we had high hopes in Shaukat Tarin, who took over from a zamindar minister, Naveed Qamar, it seems that the well meaning Mr Tarin has also disappointed the people in a big way. It was appropriate that Ms Khar, yet another scion of a family of landowners, delivered the budget speech. After all, this was a budget for the landlords, not for the people of Pakistan. Mr Tarin did well to sit in the back benches.
The budget is unimaginative and repressive — it targets salaried employees and middle-income taxpayers in a manner that would be expected from an unpopular government, not from one that calls itself a people’s government. The budget steals from the rich only theoretically to give to the poor. In all probability, the IDP tax, a wonderful brainchild of our corrupt bureaucracy, will end up making the rich richer and the poor poorer. The money won’t go to the 2.5 million IDPs. It will go to a corrupt and inefficient government machinery which has still been unable to put into place a workable system to take care of the IDPs.
The government has also taken a gamble of presenting a Rs2.9 trillion budget without knowing whether the resources pledged by foreign donors would be available. It has done nothing to expand the tax base, which in effect means that the same people who are paying direct taxes today — which is a significant minority — will be squeezed further.
There are many problems linked to the pledges made by foreign donors.
First of all, we do not know what the conditionalities are that have been agreed for these pledges. What our government has promised in return. Also, given Pakistan’s past record, will the targets only be in the economic sphere or will there be political and military targets to be set and met?
Given that the west, primarily the United States, has said time and again that this government is not doing enough, how will the money be released to Pakistan? Will we have to roll over several times and jump through different hoops to qualify for the funding, which will obviously be structured into tranches? If we fail, which in all probability we will, given the muddled leadership we have, would that mean a financial meltdown? If so, what alternative would the government have?
The tax base is another black area for the government. The one thing common in our leadership is the level of landholdings enjoyed both by our civil and military bosses. Given this, it was no surprise that the wealth that is held in this area is almost never taxed. Neither is agriculture produce or production taxed, despite the fact that our landlords make billions from it.
Those who are taxed are the poor salaried employees — who have seen a greedy and obsessive government not only squeezing them further every year but also now taxing their bonus as well as their provident funds.
Every year, the salaried employee in Pakistan suffers from further taxation, but the irony is that there is no corresponding increase in the quality of government services they receive.
Why are the salaried people having to bankroll the IDPs? Why not others? The levy on the direct taxpayers is unfair. The cause may be right — but the belt- tightening should start with our leaders — many of whom are millionaires. Why should the corporate sector — which already contributes the bulk of taxes in Pakistan — be milked further.
Wonderful Mr Tarin, one must give you extra marks for this proposal.
Possibly Pakistan is one of the few countries where there is no direct link between taxes and governance. We can see that our political and military leadership has spent billions in public funds so that they can enjoy good housing, facilities as well as more security in such troubling times. But for the people of Pakistan the quality of governance is suffering.
Crime and terrorism are on the rise. While one can understand the rise in terror-related attacks, but crime is something that can be fought but is being ignored. Instead, our corrupt and self-serving politicians are interested in stuffing their party faithful in the police — as has been the case in previous governments too.
The state of education and health is another indicator. The government is giving away its prime responsibility of providing proper education and healthcare of its people to the private sector. It is shameful.
Our examination boards have become dens of corruption. One can purchase a examination in Karachi, where once the best and the brightest used to graduate from. And yet, the People’s Party government wants to stuff its party faithful in the World Bank-sponsored teachers employment scheme. The money allocated under these heads in the budget is not only minuscule, it is irrelevant. It will only feed into a system that is not delivering on any front.
Our hospitals are a disaster. No one is able to get proper medical care here. We have abandoned the idea of generic medicines for the poor. Multinationals control the market, thanks to corrupt bureaucrats in the health ministry. In contrast, in Bangladesh, medicines are produced at home and local pharmaceutical companies have managed to develop because of the support of the government. But we give concessions to multinationals to import more raw materials at cheaper rates.
Our transport sector is a mess. Unregulated buses are run by greedy transporters who have also managed to thwart any scheme to provide cheap and efficient mass-transit to the people. While all around us are countries where underground rail system and efficient public transportation is available — with the possible exception of Afghanistan — we are still living in the era of minibuses.
In this, Mr Tarin has a gem to share. He advises people to use public transport to cut fuel costs. When was the last time Mr Tarin used public transport? The state of public transport in Pakistan is such that it is difficult for anyone to use it as a safe and efficient means. After every couple of years, buses are imported and used for a year or so on our city roads at a higher fare. But thanks to poor maintenance and government disinterest, these buses gradually disintegrate into minibuses but the higher fares remain. Would Mr Tarin like to share some more of his wisdom on this?
Without getting into a minefield, one can also wonder why we are allocating more funds to our soldiers fighting in Swat and the tribal areas. Some ask the sensible question – isn’t that what armies are supposed to do? And it’s not that our army is under-funded in any way. But this is a sensitive issue. Equally sensitive is the rise in salaries of government servants by about 15 percent. Why aren’t salaries linked to performance?
Equally worrisome is the plethora of new levies and taxes being imposed on a government that still has no economic roadmap. The Zardari government operates in fits and starts. The budget is a hiccup for the government, but in all respects it a noose for the people of Pakistan.
It can safely be said that like the performance of the government in power, the budget too is a disappointment. In these depressing times, we are unable to give hope and support to the people of Pakistan. Instead, under old and new heads, we are milking the people even more. The holy cows, in contrast, remain smug and protected. How long will this repressive order last, one wonders.
Email: kamal.siddiqi@thenews.com.pk |
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ISSN 1563-9479 
