Govt writ must for growth

LAHORE: Any party that is in power must ensure that the writ of the state is established in all affairs, from the economy and services, to law and order. This would only be possible if there is transparency and fairness in government decisions.

We have seen government writ losing in all spheres. The police is for instance encouraged to manhandle opposition violations of section 144, while it is asked to ignore the ruling party and its friends on similar offences.

Had the law been applied fairly no one would dare to violate the law. The influential continue to get uninterrupted power supply even after default of millions, but an ordinary household sees the connection severed on one month default of a few hundred rupees.

Petty criminals wait for a long time to obtain bail but those accused of frauds of billions get the bail promptly and their case lingers on for years.

Tax evaders flaunt their wealth without any fear, while many fully tax compliant enterprises are grilled through audits and fined heavily. And those fines too are waived off after long litigation of decades by high courts.

Those that put the honest taxpayer to undue pressure continue to escape any accountability. In fact many of these bureaucrats reach high posts by the time the appeals are decided.

These are all facts of life and numerous examples in this regard can be quoted.

All these illegalities happen as any government in power pressurises the bureaucracy or the police to let off its supporters and unduly harass those in opposition. This in other words gives a license to the government servants to continue similar practices on anyone they like. This way they create a regular source of income much higher than their salaries.

They take regular rent from law breakers. Police sponsors goons and dens against a price. The electricity officers permit power theft to earn hefty amounts.

The tax officials sponsor the informal sector to remain out of the tax net and instead grease their palms. Encroachers operate as long as they continue paying the daily illegal rent.

This mechanism suits both sides as they operate outside state rules. The law breakers parade their power that they do not deserve, while officials conniving with them play in wealth.

The wealth thus generated is distributed honestly up the ladder. It is a cancer that has spread throughout the bureaucracy.

The malaise would continue until the government of the day strictly adheres to the law and takes transparent measures that provide a level playing field to all.

Transparency and fair play would ensure that all appointments and promotions would be purely on merit without exercise of any discretion. In fact, there would be no discretionary power when full transparency is restored.

The posting and transfers would be according to rules and not on the recommendations of politicians or influential segments of society. All law breakers whether supporting the government or in opposition would get the same punishment.

Every business would pay taxes according to its capacity. Agriculture income, real estate and capital market gains would generate more revenue than collected currently. The circular debt would vanish while power theft and corruption would eliminate through transparency.