Writing on the wall

The Khori Garden tragedy of Sept 14 in Karachi brought to the forefront many core weaknesses in the existing distribution mechanisms. Common people are in dire straits in the country. Why else would hundreds of poor women have flocked to the deadly disaster site to collect ration supplies the very next day?

Thus anarchy and disorder erupts whenever acts of spot subsidies and benevolence are launched by the government as well as philanthropists, suggesting that institutionalised options to acquire the basics of life have totally collapsed.

It is disappointing to note that no lessons have been learned from the retrospect to effectively deal with the gravity of the situation. In a scenario where tenets of market economy are ruthlessly imposed in all the sectors, the concurrently rising number of poor is viewed as a potential threat.

Ever since the mid 1980s, Pakistan has been shackled under the infamous economic policy frameworks imposed by the international donor agencies -- mainly IMF and World Bank. This benchmark sadly coincided with the much-needed political change which led to the creation of a democratic government after 11 years of an autocratic regime of the 1980s. The era of Structural Adjustment Programmes was ushered into the nation's history with a whole range of clandestine stakeholders, men in khaki being most prominent. Times that followed displayed the lost struggles of at least four democratic governments to implement their manifestoes across the tightening nooses of donor prescriptions. Much to the pleasure of the donor community, an unmeditated coup in 1999 removed the democratic government to install a complying brand of regime which continued to faithfully bow to market pressures, even sacrificing peoples' wellbeing.

Relying on the robustness of high liquidity, a selfish consumer class was made to evolve that extended commoditisation of social goods to new heights. Domestic economy was dominated by nascent trading and laissez faire transactions without any regulatory checks and institutional compliance. As a result, powerful cartels, interest groups and lower chains of middlemen evolved that consolidated these arrangements. A stage is now reached where the country's finance minister has shown his inability to tame the wild sugar barons.

Consequently, poor masses are finding it most difficult to make both ends meet. The cost of arranging water, fuel, transportation/commuting and healthcare is more than half of the total household income for majority of inhabitants in the country. This compulsory expenditure deprives poor from developing any productive assets for incremental improvement in living standards. A rising multitude of households comprising destitutes and dependents is another cause of concern. At least half of the victims in the Khori Garden tragedy belonged to this category.

Investment to develop a viable infrastructure to uplift the condition of poor is essential. Conservative estimates show that about 48 percent of the population is without access to safe drinking water while 63 percent is not connected to any sewerage system. A sizable produce in agricultural areas perish on the way due to absence or dilapidated conditions of farm to market roads. In cities, more than three-fourth of the employment is generated in the domain of informal sector. Attempts are normally made to allocate finances for various development schemes prepared in the infrastructure sector. However, the lion's share normally goes to mega projects. Despite the fact that such projects hardly benefit poor, these incur high capital costs and have burgeoning operation and maintenance overlays. They are also assigned higher priorities. Preference given by donors/federal government, risk of losing overheads in kick backs and lobbying efforts by large-scale contractors are few reasons for choosing mega projects.

Poor people need small scale initiatives. Development of water stand posts, secondary sewers to connect household/lane level sewers, secondary roads to inter-connect localities and basic power supply are some small scale projects that can improve living conditions and help eradicate poverty by increasing peoples' productive capacity.

The government claims to support poor by opening up some avenues to muster relief. Funds from Zakat, Baitul Maal, marriage assistance and health support programmes are claimed to be accessible to poor. Several new programmes have been launched to facilitate income support, loans and even land supply to common people. The expected outcome of these initiatives shall not be able to scale up to the actual demand of the sector. As the macro scale policies do not support the pro-poor strategies, specialised programmes only become confined to political drumbeats. Poor targeting, insignificant coverage and lack of proper monitoring gives rise to a limited coverage and impact of such programmes. It is erroneously assumed that by doling out money, poverty can be stemmed.

If the present regime is willing to prove its representative status, few fundamental steps need to be taken without delay. One, an open debate about the overall causes and effects of poverty must be launched. All cross sections of the society should be allowed to contribute to it. Two, findings and recommendations of various research studies must be scientifically reviewed and assessed by a relevant institution, such as the Planning Commission. Three, based on these inputs, a working paper on the issues related to poverty and means to holistically address them may be floated at the elected fora, including local councils, provincial assemblies and parliament. On the basis of the national consensus evolved for addressing poverty, negotiations and dialogue must be made with all interest groups, including donors. Four, policy instruments that affect the livelihoods of people must be immediately checked and revisited. This also accounts for providing protectionist cover for few sectors of enterprises that are in the state of infancy. Five, direct assistance must be only targeted to those who are economically incapable in all respects. All others must be provided with catalytical assistance to help acquire a compatible earning opportunity. Once economically capable, the society can address almost all other issues. And six, infrastructure development must be based on the up-scaling of various pilot projects that now have a successful existence in this country and are being replicated on self help.

It must be remembered that nations have experienced revolutions that ignored the writing on the walls on such grave counts.