LAHORE: The ruling elite would have to curb the tendency of ignoring the losses the public and businesses suffer because of their indifference. Public suffers big time when very important person (VIP) movements block roads for hours, while businesses incur red ink because of bureaucratic red tape.
Bureaucratic red tape is applied only on the general public and businesses but it is rampant among different government departments as well.
The lack or even absence of coordination among ministries that deal with economy, finance, and businesses is a good case in point. These include the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce and Trade, Ministry of Industries, Ministry of Water and Power and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources.
These government departments have to operate in tandem to ensure full facilitation to the commercial enterprises and businesses. These ministries operate without sync with to the effect that a step taken by one to facilitate economic growth remains ineffective as the others simply fail to complement that initiative.
Industrialists are dismayed that the offices established to facilitate the manufacturing sector are operating in isolation.
They allege that these ministries neither maintain liaisons with each other nor with the industrial sector. Businessmen say that whenever any industrial sector faces problem it has to run from pillar to post to get it resolved.
Ideally, they add, the concerned ministry should, taking a proactive approach, should nip the evil in the bud.
The ministry of industries facilitates the establishment and smooth running of manufacturing sector of the country.
It has to ensure uninterrupted power and energy supplies to industries, but in reality doesn’t have any say whatsoever in this regard. Similarly, the ministries of water & power and petroleum & natural resources function independent of each other.
The import of raw materials is officially regulated by the ministry of commerce but the ministry of finance determines the duties that could make the costs prohibitive. Moreover, the commerce ministry could allow import of finished products at low duties that could harm local production.
The businessmen are aware of the implications of the different decisions taken by different ministries. They usually stay in touch with all the ministries but then the traders, having conflict of interest with the domestic manufacturers, also lobby for decisions of their liking in each of these ministries. In fast emerging economies the affairs of local manufacturers are studied and resolved by one ministry. We have tried this under the concept of ‘one-stop for all solutions’, but it has always turned out to be an additional step in the already tediously cumbersome procedures.
Ideally all the economic ministries should be in constant contact with each other on daily basis.
The ministry of power should keep all the ministries informed about power generation and possible power disruptions so that the private sector entrepreneurs are informed in advance. They could then take measures to cope with the situation.
The ministry of finance should promptly release the amount announced in the annual budget for the facilitation of exports so that ministry of commerce could smoothly distribute the amount to exporters, who qualify.
The exporters should not be forced to go from office to office for the release of what is rightfully theirs. Noncooperation from any ministry must be taken seriously and the person responsible for creating hurdles should be taken to the task, no matter who he may be.
Business disruption has become a daily routine in our culture. We never calculate the deployment cost of placing law enforcement personnel along a 5-7 kilometer route of a VIP moving in any of our cities.
For safety reasons two three routes are manned for security reasons with the option of choosing any of these routes applied at last minute. Most of the VIPs have official helicopters. They can move from airport to their destination on helicopters. The cost of helicopter service would be less or same as that incurred on deployment and the security escorts. It would save the general public a lot of discomfort.
The deployed security force would then be spared to improve law and order in the country.
The VIP protocol first started with the top political post in the government but has now spread to lower bureaucratic levels. Now even a superintendent of police moves around with a special security escort.
The security blockades outside the police stations and other high offices create a sense of insecurity among common citizens.
They wonder how security forces would shield them from criminals when their personnel are themselves need layers and layers of security.
