Governance issues

To many, both these words 'governance' and 'good governance' sound very strange in our contemporary Pakistani society. Administrative incompetence is visible everywhere. Our water resources, environment, public-sector organisations, local bodies’ service delivery etc need good governance. But everywhere we see crime, corruption and mafia in this society.

Those who tell the truth and those who blow the whistle about administrative and fiscal corruption are either declared ‘persona non grata’ or dubbed as ‘trouble creators’ in this society. And such people, no matter how much industrious, intelligent, intellectual, workaholic, dutiful, disciplined and devoted they are, deserve no career progression because we live in a country where words like 'governance’ and ‘organisational governance’ are simply alien. Pakistan has unquestionably fallen into an economic crisis. Our economy is in the doldrums and our public-sector organisations are limping. The unemployment rate is alarmingly high. Poverty in the entire country has increased due to flawed polices and organised corruption. Is this the failure of our bureaucracy, politicians or something else?

Hashim Abro

Islamabad