Dovetailing Populism into the Economy
It is impossible for politicians to take hard decisions not in consonant with the populist promises made during the run-up to the elections. In the cold light of day one finds that it is difficult, having promised the moon, to settle for cheese. Perforce many are reduced to simply ignoring any pledges given during the passions of the election process or simply giving lip-service with a drum-beat and a flourish. Unfortunately for the poor souls at the bottom end of the spectrum, all this spells more misery, complicated by the hope generated by unreal promises.
The sorry state of the economy on the taking over of Federal power by the PPP was hardly an appropriate foundation for launching a massive Peoples-oriented programme; our foreign debt position was so atrocious that the last regime in its ending throes came to a stiff agreement with the IMF for more infusion of funds to tide over the financial crisis. IMF conditionalities normally cut across the grain of populism and only the fact that Ms Benazir’s international credibility is exceedingly high and there is genuine First World interest in furthering the process of democracy in Pakistan that the IMF have agreed to talk about softening the terms. Exactly how much leeway has been given to the new Government is not clear but the fact that the dialogue has remained calm and that no subsidies have been withdrawn, taxes levied or rates revised have given hope that some sort of a moratorium has been mutually agreed upon. For the sake of survivability of the PPP Government, this is good news, they could hardly have gone the hard road when the euphoria of obtaining everything promised under the sun in one election package was still afresh.
The basic amenities which are necessary are food, water, shelter, medicine and education followed by electricity, transportation, roads and gas, notwithstanding communication facilities. To combat absolute poverty, one must ensure means of employment. The cardinal principles, which must become a part of all the plans, are availability and affordability, the premise being that the masses will have the money to pay for the services/facilities. What is the use of having all the services in abundance if you cannot pay for it? The priority of any programme must be general and constant employment. Any programme that tends to concentrate on infrastructure only without finding the means to pay for it will end up without achieving far reaching results.
In this respect, one feels that while the Peoples Programme represents a salute to the requirements of the masses in this financial year, it must be followed in the next budget by a more comprehensive plan designed to create employment opportunities across the (rural and urban) board. We must reach back into the precepts of our own religion for a cooperative concept and create a common revenue generating mechanism for the community which is labour-intensive. Within the Federal and Provincial structures we have an entity called the Federal Bank for Cooperatives (FBC) meant to support the rural effort and which can, duly modulated, become the springboard for force-multiplying job creation, providing investment at the doorstep for local bodies to draw from.
For the development of industry we have created a number of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) but for Rural Development and Local Government there is not a single DFI to depend upon. True, Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP) does excellent work in the field of agriculture. FBC should function as the DFI for Local Government and Rural Development, force-feeding investment into rural opportunities indicated by the locally constituted bodies.
What should a Rural Development programme envisage insofar as increasing employment opportunities? Each village unit must function as a Cooperative whose primary role must be self-generation of employment and income. Each area may have its own particular requirement but generally can look for small industries such as poultry, livestock, fish farming, milk and milk food projects, garments, fruit processing, bio-gas projects, etc. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Government of Pakistan, sanctioned a National Commission on Agriculture in 1986, which submitted its report to the then PM, Mr. Junejo, in March 1988. This was an excellent report as not only was it statistically correct but also came for the most part to the right conclusions. Senator Sartaj Aziz and the Commission members have to be commended because the document is well-researched and gives out a bipartisan approach to agriculture solutions. If anything, the Commission has not been ambitious enough in its recommendations, opting for cautious targets in many areas where more optimistic objectives should be attainable. We have to aim for much higher targets in livestock, poultry, milk, fish, etc, doubling, trebling, quadrupling our present yields in the next few years. Imaginative planning can achieve these for us.
In a keynote address on a SAARC Symposium on “Employment Generation in Rural Areas — Problems and Prospects” Dr Moinuddin Baqai, Chairman, National Manpower Commission of Pakistan, spoke about the rural youth entering the labour market earlier. In spite of the fact that our cropped area has increased 35% in 25 years and intensive and modern farming techniques have created increased demand for labour, the surplus is being pushed out because of economic constraints from the rural society. The bright city lights have created a migration trend weakening the rural sector as the few who have made good create success stories magnified beyond their asset worth. He has very rightly suggested that it must be a combination of technical training, expansion of shopping and services facilities and the availability of finance that will create the jobs that will reverse the trend of migration to rural areas. One of the more important aspects of the Peoples Programme has been the emphasis on devolution of authority, provided the Federal Government follows this policy without deviation because of political expediency. This principle has to be followed also when ensuring decentralizing of the job market so that some of the educated youth may be retained locally in the villages rather than move lock, stock and education to the cities.
It is extremely necessary to concentrate maximum effort on the educational facilities in the rural areas, using possible National Service volunteers to upgrade the literacy level. These facilities should cut across all age barriers including the practical aspects peculiar to a rural economy. In effect this would not be a one-way street but a form of mutual education, as a blend of city youth with those drawn from the villages will create greater awareness of each other’s present and future problems at the very grass roots level. These are the managers of our future and the experience will stand them in excellent stead. Former PM Junejo’s “Nai Roshni” attempt was an excellent programme though it lost a lot in actual execution. The lessons learnt must be put to good use as it is only with education in the rural areas that we shall be able to multiply the benefits of our God-endowed agriculture base.
The PPP Government must take a hard look at Senator Sartaj Aziz’s report because democracy teaches bipartisanism for national problems which are acute. Maybe the targets can be revised to inculcate Dr Baqai’s observations but the emphasis has to be on force-feeding the objectives beyond normally attainable heights. It is in the interest of the people of Pakistan that populism is translated into reality and this will require a joint effort by the whole electorate, irrespective of party colour. While keeping the essence of politics alive, the acquisition of power, this ambition must be sacrificed at the altar of peoples present misery, pulling together for the common good. When our agriculture prosperity becomes maximum employment generator, we can think of really abolishing poverty.
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