Socio-economic turmoil and challenges of policy making in the current era

With the exit of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and the ar rival of a new govern- - ment, the economic indicators of our country have taken a turn for worse. With an onslaught of allegation and fake news on multiple forums, there are no clear cut facts and figures to rely on. The common man, like myself is worried that it may lead to a chaotic situation, worse than Sri Lanka. The economic managers of present regime paint a very bleak picture while the same is completely denied by the previous regime. A new blame game has started, leading to more uncertainty, chaos and problems of the population. This confusion would have been easily avoided, if the previous government would have given a clear picture of the economy keeping in mind the following data: 1- The amount of total external and internal debts as on 09.9.2018 as PTI came in to power and when the new government took of-fice on 09.4.2022. 2- During the tenure of PTI, how much loan (both external as well as internal) was returned. 3- Rupee exchange rate as on 09.9.2018 and on 09 4.2022. 4- Total foreign reserve held with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and commercial banks as on 09.09.2018 and on 09.4.2022. 5- The number of direct taxpayer on 09.9.2018 and as on 09. 4.2022 or on 30.6.2021. 6- The total quantum of export and import as on 09.9.2018 and 09.4.2022. If the new government had disagreed with the data provided by previous government, its own economic team could have given its version of facts and figures and it could have led to some degree of sanity. In the absence of any clear facts and fig-ures from the present regime, as it seems, our situation is more like the Sri Lankan government. There is complete uncertainty and sense of chaos amongst the common man. Our external debts are very high. Rupee is all time weak. We are paying more money for imports as compared to our earnings from our export. We have to understand that a dollar saved is a dollar earned. In such a chaotic situation, the speculators in the currency market are very active and take undue gain from the situation, which leads to the pres-sure on the Pakistani rupee, resulting in an even weaker Rupee, prone to further depreciation. While comparing our situation with that Sri Lankan government, which was officially declared as bankrupt on April12, 2022, we must keep in mind that Sri Lanka has a literacy rate of 96.30 percent and their exports of textile and garment stand at 52 percent. The main reason for their bankrupt-cy was a huge trade deficit. Similarly, they took further loans to pay back the already acquired loan. A large number of people were also employed politically without any proper requirement and/or duty to perform thus increasing the pressure on an al-ready weakened exchequer. We must not forget that Pakistan is the first and the only Islamic nuclear state and God forbid, in case of any eventuality, like bankruptcy, the consequences could be very devastating. Therefore, it is high time that we must think and act before it is too late. Time has shown again and again that Paki-stani nation is very resilient and has the potential to overcome the crisis, provided we have honest and a willing government in place. Some suggestions for the new government: 1- Government must ban the import of unnecessary food items forthwith. 2- Government should drastically increase many fold import du-ties on the luxury vehicle (for the more than 1,800 cc engine capacity) and those who can afford to buy such cars should al-so be willing to pay for. 3- Must increase duties on the import of daily used item. Shall bring more people in to tax net. This can be easily done by giv-ing some incentive to the tax payer of different categories. Any person owning a vehicle more than 1,300 cc shall be asked to file the tax return. This data can be easily obtained from the vehicle registration department from the respective provinces and the federal capital. 4- All the previous governments were shy of imposing agriculture tax. Now it is time to implement it in true spirit and a cut off limit of land be employed so poor farmers are not penalised by unnecessarily paying the taxes. 5- Any house hold whose monthly electricity bill is more than Rs25000.00 and is a non-filer, his electricity bill shall be addi-tionally charged at a reasonably rate. 6- All the sick unit/industries, in the country, which are under the government control and a huge amount of the tax payer mon-ey is spent every month for the payment of salaries of the employee with no input in to country economy shall be immedi-ately privatised. 7- A huge amount of money is spent on the construction and equipment of the government hospitals every year but unfor-tunately such hospitals after their colourful inauguration tumble down very quickly. Most of the expensive equipment be-come out of order in a very limited time. In order to overcome this problem and to provide facilities to the hospitals available to the public round the year, it is suggested that a high power committee comprising four members of highest integrity should be formed. Their job shall be to visit all the public sector hospitals very frequently and to make sure that expensive equipments are fully operational and if there is need for repair of these equipments, it shall be carried out at minimal cost and in shortest possible time. 8- It is high time that the government must drastically reduce the nondevelopment expenditure. Unnecessary protocols shall be withdrawn here forthwith. The government should provide security to the whole community and not just to the few indi-viduals. 9- Due to the population in Pakistan, a proper planning for the development work is required. It is a difficult task but needs to be done. Nowhere in the world proper planning for the devel-opmental work can be done without knowing the actual popu-lation growth. Once population is controlled, then only can fu-ture planning be successful. This country and its population has a huge potential. And good times are not far away provided we tap on the potential of this country wisely and steer it towards development. I hope and pray that my suggestions and thoughts will be considered and thought about by policy mak-ers and we shall all see an economic and cultural revival of this great country founded on principles of unity, faith and disci-pline. –Prof Dr Hussain is a freelance writer. He can be approached at Hussaindr44@ gmail.com

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