RMS Titanic

RMS Titanic was the largest ship of its time (1912) and the second of the three Olympic-class ocean liners. Thomas Andrews was the Titanic’s architect and on the night of April 14, 1912 and the morning of April 15, 1912 the Titanic was under the command of Captain Edward Smith.

RMS Titanic continues to be one of the most famous of ships ever built – but for all the wrong reasons. In the North Atlantic Ocean, RMS Titanic had an estimated 2,224 people onboard. In the North Atlantic Ocean, more than 1,500 drowned that night. Captain Edward Smith was on the bridge.

RMS Caronia warned Captain Edward Smith that there were icebergs ahead. Captain Edward Smith acknowledged the warning. RMS Baltic warned Captain Edward Smith that there were icebergs ahead. Captain Edward Smith acknowledged the warning. The Greek ship, Athenia, warned Captain Edward Smith that there were icebergs ahead. Captain Edward Smith acknowledged the warning.

And yet, Captain Edward Smith did not reduce the speed of the ship. And yet, Captain Edward Smith took the Titanic towards the iceberg at the Titanic’s full speed of 22 knots (41 km/h). And then, the Titanic collided. The Titanic “began to flood immediately, with water pouring in at an estimated rate of seven tonnes per second, fifteen times faster than it could be pumped out.”

The ship of Pakistan’s economy has 208 million Pakistanis onboard. There are at least five captains on the bridge of the Ministry of Finance. In December 2017, the captains of our Ministry of Finance were warned. The warning: Pakistan’s current account deficit has widened by a whopping 89 percent in the first five months (July-November) of fiscal year 2017-18. In February 2018, the captains of our Ministry of Finance were warned. The warning: the current account deficit surged by 48 percent to $9.156 billion in the seven months of fiscal year 2017-18.

In October 2017, the captains of our Ministry of Finance were warned. The warning: “Pakistan’s trade deficit widened to $9.1 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, up by 30 percent as imports grew at double the pace of exports”. In January 2018, the captains of our Ministry of Finance were warned. The warning: “Pakistan’s trade deficit has swelled to $18 billion in only six months of [the] current fiscal year due to faster growth in imports as against exports.”

The iceberg is clear to everyone. And yet, the captains of Pakistan’s economy are not reducing the speed. The iceberg is clear to everyone. And yet, the captains of Pakistan’s economy are taking the economy towards the iceberg at full speed.

The widening of the current account deficit is a symptom, not the disease. The swelling of the trade deficit is a symptom, not the disease. The disease is fuelled by the high input costs of electricity and gas, and tax policies. Imposing regulatory duties on imports is suppressing the symptoms, not curing the disease. The devaluation of the rupee is suppressing the symptoms, not curing the disease. The captains of our economy have taken 208 million hostage by locking us into super-expensive, ‘take-or-pay’, long-term contracts. There’s absolutely no way out but to re-negotiate these contracts and make Pakistan competitive again.

The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad.

Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com Twitter: @saleemfarrukh