Beyond corruption

It is commendable that the PTI government has been elected on its single-point agenda to eradicate corruption. The party believes that eliminating corruption from society is the panacea to all ills. This might be true, but the government must realise that corruption is just a symptom and not the disease itself. Removing the symptoms will only generate temporary relief, causing the symptoms to resurface again. The government must realise that the root cause of corruption is unchecked inflation and exponential rise in the cost of living during the last two decades. When salaries and means of income become incompatible with the cost of living, people have no choice but to explore various avenues of corruption just to maintain their standard of living. Most of the first world countries are corruption-free is because wages and means of income over there are comparable with the cost of living and inflation. So, the government must focus on keeping a strict check on prices, utility charges, indirect taxes and keeping salaries at par with inflation to encourage people to live within their means and not be lured by corrupt practices.

Fuad Enver

Islamabad