LAHORE: Governance is the main casualty of the current political turmoil in the country as privatisation or restructuring of loss making entities, price control mechanism or checking adulteration are not a priority of the state.
The government is busy in political and judicial conflicts. This is mainly the outcome of the dysfunctional regulatory institutions of the country. In all well governed countries, the state machinery is not impacted by the political happenings or agitations. The ruling party is not mandated by law to involve itself in micromanagement, but simply gives policy guidelines to the bureaucracy within the framework of law.
However, it has no say or interference in the affairs and working of regulatory institutions. If institutions were strong they would have managed to check all unlawful acts irrespective of political conditions in the country.
Each government in Pakistan has micromanaged the bureaucracy that is the largest institution. Postings and transfers are made on the whims of rulers.
Though there are some rules that govern postings and transfers, the rules are brushed aside. This has weakened the bureaucracy and has divided the bureaucrats as favourites of one political party or the other.
Bureaucracy lacks discipline. Most bureaucrats do not observe office timings. They come late and go early. Keep files in their custody for as long time as they like and delay routine decisions to promote a rent seeking culture that has spread from top to bottom.
Regulatory institutions are managed by each government by delaying the appointments of the vacant regulatory posts including that of the heads of the institution. Delay in appointments of different regulatory slots in some of these institutions makes them non-functional.
Regulatory posts are most of the time filled by giving the temporary charge to any official of that institution till the appointment of a new person through proper procedure. The person can retain that charge indefinitely.
He/she would toe the line of the government in the hopes of getting a permanent appointment. Even in the State Bank of Pakistan that is now a fully independent institution, the sitting government has the right to appoint SBP governor from within the institution for a period of three months after the completion of the tenure of the duly appointed governor.
The tenure of all regulatory posts has constitutional protection. The state machinery is aware of the expiry of the tenure.
Why cannot we make a law to fill the regulatory post immediately after the completion of the tenure? Why cannot we assign the responsibility of regulatory appointments to an independent board composed of heads of professional associations like ICAP and many others? This will empower regulators who would be able to put their foot down on any government interference.
For bureaucracy, the state must follow the procedures of appointments, postings and transfers that are in vogue in the army. We never hear someone complaining of unfairness in appointments from a jawan to officers in the army.
Promotions thereafter are based on performance and passing of exams or tests for each promotion. The postings are tenure-based. Each officer and jawan must serve in hardship and lucrative stations to qualify for promotion. The post of army chief is never kept vacant even for a day.
The army chief reaches top after serving in hardship locations like Siachen or on tense borders. No one can violate the discipline. The government cannot interfere in posting and transfers. The army chief calls the shots.
In bureaucracy, the chief secretaries in provinces and principal secretary in the centre are the actual stewards, but they are dictated by the rulers who enjoy the power to transfer them or make them OSD on whims.