Every nation is different and boasts a unique potential for socio-political and economic prosperity, and each faces different obstacles to social inclusion, social capital development and mobility. While it is always good to learn from global best practices of democracy, governance and development, the system that serves nation the best is the one that has been tailored to the different public needs of participation and development and is cognizant of the unique development potential of the nation.
The case of Pakistan is also no different, where only its own created system will suit its public and an imported system whether US, British or Chinese will fail to respond, work and serve the country and its citizens.
Only if the socio-political actors of today have a selfless vision of building a future better than the present, can Pakistan survive as a nation long after we are gone.
The current system which allows the voters (who make up even less than 30% of the country’s overall population) to elect the top executives, is far from being considered a true representative of the mandate.
Thus far, this system has failed to work for Pakistan and its people; as it is inherently capable to create chaos, give rise to family-owned parties and dynastic politics, destructive, zero-sum power games and resultantly a corrupt system of democracy – whose acceptance becomes inevitable – only to increase probability for the country to default, a situation in which all the international lenders will renegotiate as they did with all other nations that defaulted in last 50 years. That’s the reality of the financial world.
While this system of governance has failed us, the hope of survival for future lies in the interventions including but not limited to:
1. Direct election of President, Prime Minister (PM), Chief Ministers (CM), Senators, and Governors; through the direct vote of public, where the public majority’s mandate chooses country’s top leadership and not MPs who frequently resort to political patronage and consider personal interest paramount as a preference over national interest – which they may find rational but it never means a true public representation.
2. PM and CM to choose cabinet from Pakistani professionals and not just from elected MPs. Additionally, , the elected cadre should steadfastly and only focus on matters of legislation and policy making inclusive of the public needs and interests.
3. As much as any other sector of society or branch of government, the law and justice sector need reforms to be able to effectively deliver to and serve its target beneficiaries i.e. public and ease their access to justice. Inducting lawyers as judges without any competitive exam, constitutional training or other parameters only heightens the chances of corruption in the judiciary. This corruption crisis is further exacerbated when the judges are inducted based on political affiliations and remain loyal to masters throughout their careers. Selecting judges through competitive exams can serve as a real breakthrough to ameliorate these issues.
Lastly, the role of prosecution is crucial in this entire system, so much so that it can either produce a tainted or a transparent judgment. A 90 day trial period should be introduced with no provision of any further delays to create a much-needed public confidence in our judiciary.
4. The use of e-Government automations can greatly reduce the size of bureaucracy and make better use of the valuable human potential in many other sectors of the society than the bureaucracy. Moreover, the government salaries and perks need to be competitive with domestic industry to recruit qualified candidates , with all existing perks eliminated.
5. The new or product change manufacturers (industries) – of products for domestic use or export to regional and international destinations – should be given a five-year tax holiday besides incentivizing the production of products that are mostly imported. This incentive alone has the potential to skyrocket the economy.
4. In the interest of economic and food security, mechanized gang agriculture – like it is in Israel – should be promoted, which involves collective farming, cultivating the same crop over 1000 acres.
5. If multi storey, 4-20 floor smart buildings with 400-2000 sq ft apartments are constructed, and allowed to be purchased where buying through 10-20 mortgage loans is authorized, the construction industry will thrive.
6. To increase economy documentation and tax collection, all transactions above 10,000 should only be allowed through electronic transfer.
7. Multi-tier taxation regime should be introduced with the richest individuals contributing up to 80% to the overall tax collections, as it is is a norm everywhere in the world, hence same should be implemented in Pakistan.
None of the aforementioned suggestions are infeasible right now. What is more important for those at helm of the affairs in Pakistan is to go beyond firefighting and push forward these essential reforms highlighted above that are key to ensuring the country’s political and economic stability and long-term growth prospects. Indeed, it is in the country’s best interest to do so.
