Political Impediments to Economic Development

???????????????Political Impediments to Economic Development ???

Dr. Hasan Askari Rizvi

???????????Pakistan is currently facing a difficult economic situation which has undermined the capacity of the government to govern effectively and intensified socio-economic tensions in the society. The slowing down of economic growth is accompanied by budget deficit, increasing trade deficit, the balance of payment problem, falling value of Pakistani Rupee and a heavy reliance on external sources like loans, grants and remittances from overseas Pakistanis. The domestic sources of the economy are weak. When we examine those aspects of the economy that concern the ordinary people, the situation is troubling. Inflation and price hike have hit the common person very hard. The inability of the government to regulate market forces has given a free hand to the suppliers of goods to markets and market bosses to manipulate prices. The most frustrating fact is that there appears to be no hope that the government will control the upward movement of prices. The new fiscal adjustments demanded by the IMF as a precondition for revival of stalled funding programme is expected to increase the pains of the common people.

???The federal government has provided financial assistance to the poor people though various welfare schemes. This has reduced a part of economic pressure on those getting economic assistance. However, these schemes do not offer enduring solutions of poverty, underdevelopment and inequalities in Pakistani society that are now on the rise.?????????

????We can blame the federal and provincial governments for the troubled economic situation because the management of the economy is their responsibility. This is linked with the issues of governance and political management. Any economy can falter if the government cannot effectively perform these inter-related tasks.

????Does this mean that the removal of the current federal and the provincial governments will improve the economy? The answer is “No”. If the government is unable to cope with economic challenges, the opposition, mainly the PMLN and the PPP,?lack ideas and a vision to uplift the economy. They spend most of their energies in blaming the PTI government for economic decline and ask for the resignation of the Prime Minister. However, they have never put forward any framework for the improvement of economic situation. They have no plan of action, and they never tell you about the ways and means of improving the?economy and addressing the menace of inflation, price hike and how to avoid reliance on foreign loans.

????Pakistan’s economic problems are deep rooted and complex. There are structural problems in the economy that require difficult and determined decisions, but the political governments avoid taking such decisions. The economy also suffers because of political impediments. It is the problem of narrow partisan and fragmented politics and the lack of professionalism that makes Pakistani politics detrimental to socio-economic development and human welfare.

???No single political party can rectify the economy. It requires a comprehensive approach that enjoys the support of the major political parties and leadership. If the major political parties cannot change their politics that is narrowly focused on the interests of the party and its leadership, Pakistan’s economy has little prospects of overcoming the current decline.

????The solutions of Pakistan’s economic problems are available. The major obstacle is how to implement them. This cannot be done without developing a broadly shared understanding ?among the major political parties on the solutions, assigning them a priority over the partisan interests of the parties and ?how to implement the agreed framework of economic action. It is the problem of politics and political determination to implement difficult but relevant strategies.

??The political context and the disposition of the political leaders are not helpful to addressing economic problems in a dispassionate and professional manner. The political situation is dominated by shortsighted and immediate compulsions and highly one-sided considerations of the political leaders

???The rampant corruption and the failure of the dominant Pakistani elite to make a distinction between personal and official domains has led to a tendency to make use of state resources and facilities for personal use. There is a lot of wastage of state resources for providing facilities to the senior civil and military officials, parliamentarians and those holding key political offices and their close associates that contributes to dearth of resources ?for societal development and the welfare of the common people. Further, corruption has become so deep rooted in the society that you find it at every level of the society—from a small shopkeeper to senior officials. Some these corrupt practices are ignored for partisan reasons. Any corruption related inquiry against political leaders is described as political victimization.

????The political context of the economy also suffers from linguistic, ethnic, regional and religious-sectarian divides that fragment the society and makes it difficult for people, including many officials to adopt a professional and nonpartisan disposition. The habit of public display of religious piety and religious extremism and terrorism that Pakistan has been experiencing since the 1980s has also undermined Pakistani politics and economy. The outbreak of COVID-19 has also adversely affected the economy.

?????If the much-required decisions for improving the economy are to be made and then fully implemented in their true spirit the political parties and the leaders will have to change their ways of pursuing politics. They need to review the major trends of current Pakistani politics that include the brute struggle for politics devoid of democratic ethos and morality, opposition for the sake of opposition, pursuance of personal vendetta against one another and the efforts to undermine the political adversary at any cost.

??The political leaders need to cultivate an understanding for managing key economic challenges, especially the matters relating to societal development and human welfare. They should develop a collective approach to providing health care and education facilities to the common people, basic civic facilities and how to improve the quality of life in urban and rural areas.?Other key issues that require immediate consensus between the government and the opposition include how to deal with the state enterprises suffering from financial losses, reduction of reliance on international financial institutions and external loans, strengthening of agriculture and production of value-added goods for export and how to control corruption and wastage of state resources.

???The key to Pakistan’s economic salvation is in the hands of the political elite in power and in opposition. They will have to think beyond their party and personal interests. If they are not willing to change, no government, present or the future, will be overcome the economic predicament. Pakistan will move from one political and economic crisis to another, no matter who is in power. ======

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