The widening trust deficit

LAHORE: The trust deficit created between the common man and the government is perhaps the highest in our recent history. This government has failed to deliver on its promises, but makes tall claims about the success of its policies.

Government does not have the fiscal space to provide meaningful relief to the masses, but is trying to allocate funds for job creation, which are not enough to cater to even five percent of those who need job. We neither need Ehsaas programme nor should we lend loans to inexperienced youth to start their own business.

The economic situation is already worse and even the established players are finding it hard to pull on. Under these circumstances the inexperienced youth are likely to waste the meagre resources provided to them.

The government should improve the business climate and leave the rest to the private sector. They will invest when operating business in Pakistan becomes profitable.

We are trying to encourage new and inexperienced entrepreneurs while haunting the established business tycoons first the NAB and now through FIA. If anyone has done some wrong they should be punished, but if our investigators lack expertise to come out with solid proof of wrongdoing than it hurts the business sentiments.

Successive governments have created a culture in Pakistan where getting rich through genuine business has become a crime. We will have to respect genuine entrepreneurs at national level.

We see business tycoons providing employment to over 50,000 people in their enterprises avoiding media, avoiding public and making sure that they do not utter any word publically against government policies publically. They do plead with economic planners when they meet in private but dare not criticise the government in public.

We in fact see some industrialists praising the improved law and order situation and elimination of terrorism as feats of this government but they say nothing on economic policies.

The vocal critics of the state are the small traders and small and medium enterprises that do not have spare resources to fall back under current acute economic crunch. There should be an open dialogue between the government and businessmen, followed by a joint press conference in which both sides frankly explain their stance.

The government should give timeline for resolving those issues. Current situation is such that after several warnings and requests, the spinners have announced a strike.

The government does not seem worried. As per the usual course of events, the minister concerned would call those on strike for a dialogue. If they were obliged, they would resume production. Otherwise, the stalemate would persist for some time as it has been going on for over a year.

Both government and spinners have weaknesses. The government is over charging the entire nation, including spinners by incorporating its inefficiencies on the consumers. Spinners want reduction in tariff for textiles only despite the known fact that they are also loaded with inefficiencies.

The government is in a fix. With limited resources it cannot fulfil the aspirations of the general public as well as the businessmen. This has created another deficit that is the gap between expectation of the people and capacity of the government to deliver.

Elite of this country is also accused of being reluctant to share the burden of the poor. But then this attitude has been in the air for decades. In the present financial crunch, the elite are trying to save its own skin. Thus, the poor are not a priority in planning.

Sailing on the international front is not smooth either, contrary to what the government has been portraying. We are still in the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force despite doing our best to remove the objections of the FATF group on terror financing and money laundering.

Things are still murky despite an encouraging statement by the International Monetary Fund delegation that visited Pakistan for the second review of its package. After several bailout packages, we have failed to understand that we would have to live within our means to ensure sustained economic growth.

We have still not been informed whether the next tranche would be approved or deferred till the third review. The coronavirus episode has suspended our trade activities in the region. Even the border with Iran has been closed. Under these circumstances slight decline in crude oil rates is not a big deal. Situation on the fiscal front has also deteriorated, as revenue target slipped sharply this fiscal, making it impossible for the government to provide relief to poor in next budget.