My Vote, Worth a Dime!

At nearly 60 years of age I have seen almost all political/ democratic elections in Pakistan; witnessed election processes and election-days when people voted, observed winners turned rulers, their early promises during elections and post-election actions, and compared their goals versus targets achieved. The result is; Pakistan has not forwarded a yard in the direction to gaining prosperity. It still remains under-developed country. The rhetorical promises from the political leaders, as some of them listed below, remain hollow promises since ages:

·       Education for all
·       Jobs to youth
·       Women emancipation
·       Adequate salaries and minimum respectable salary
·       Health for all especially poor
·       Clean potable water
·       Housing
·       Poverty alleviation
·       Infrastructure development
·       Balance in exports and imports
·       Elevation of currency
·       Robust reserves with the central bank
·       Clean environment, and so on

None of the political parties ever promoted a culture of harmony, morality, ethics, honesty and integration of ethnic societies in the past. Rather, at times they highlighted fragmentation on the basis of language, caste, creed and religious factions to win votes of a particular section of the population in a particular area while slogans differed at other places.

The most disheartening factor being the absence of long-term policies in our political and democratic structure aimed at development of the country on a sustainable basis. Long term policies shape up the country and its direction, which may look working slow but long term goals have long lasting impacts. All those political parties who won the elections in the past on a certain manifesto of promises actually ruled with a single point agenda; to earn enough wealth (individually and collectively) through whatever means so that the same could be invested for winning the next elections. Needless to say that more money you are going to spend during the election campaign more chances are that you would emerge a winner.

At the formation of every new government after the elections, the ruling party cries of foul play with the economy and wealth of the nation by and through the hands of predecessors. They cry about empty treasury, excesses of foreign loans, dearth of funds for payment of interests on loans and repayment of principle loans. To resolve the issue of balance of payments they take more loans; at tough conditions of the loaning institutions: the vicious circle.

Even after decades in place all the major government departments are working in deficit apparently due to corruption, at every tier of service structure: Pakistan Steel Mills, PIA, Railways, GENCOs, DISCOs, SSGC, SNGC etc., with a pile up of spiteful loans and debts. The only rescue is; obtain more debts. Freeing ourselves from the chain of debts means having a new chain of loan tied to the country and to each of us. The latest figures say that every countryman owes a loan of Pak Rupees 115,000 and this figure is increasing day by day without any respite.

When it is said and generally believed that government is poor but people are rich, it makes sense because corruption is deep routed in our blood through last fifty (50) years of poor governance, dishonesty, nepotism, and filling the top positions of all big and important institutions on political grounds ignoring merit altogether. What an irony that in a population of more than 200 million, only 1.7 million people pay taxes that counts to be less than 1 percent. One of the main reasons behind this dismal position of taxpayers is peoples’ mistrust in the successive rulers. Most of the entitled people evade paying taxes and those willing to pay it don’t trust the incumbent rulers and feel that their tax money would go wasted on corruption practices.

Other important fact is the emergence of ‘’elite class’’ in the last decades that simply minted the money through illicit means and have gotten away cleanly. This club is expanding day by day. Thus this “elite class’’ has become the source of inspiration for the new generations because earning easy money (without a trace of accountability) has been tempting since long now.

Another curse that this country had to suffer badly from is money laundering. Since money earned through illegitimate means could not be declared or deposited in banks therefore it passed on to safe hands in the middle east, far east, Europe and the United States through money laundering. In no time ordinary people saw some other ordinary people becoming extremely rich, owning luxury cars and SUVs, and found buying real estate in DHAs, Bahrias, and on foreign soils.

The basic needs like clean water and sanitation, health, education and shelter are still beyond the reach of large segment of population. Law and order situation has always been questionable irrespective of pre or post 9/11 era. It is more fearsome for any citizen that a policeman intercepts them on the road than a plain-clothed individual. All the successive governments have failed to build or inculcate confidence into the population about the impartiality, honesty, bravery and swiftness of law enforcing agencies.

If an ordinary middleclass individual doesn’t inherit a house for living in Pakistan, then by virtue of serving their entire lives in public or private job won’t guarantee them that they would ever be able to buy or own a shelter for their respective families from a sizeable pension or gratuity.

The incumbent ruling political party which won the elections on the slogans of ‘’across the board accountability” and ‘’change’’ last year is the last hope that in the next four years the “change” would be visible and tangible in the lives of millions of people in this country. The failure would be catastrophic. People would stop believing in the political/ democratic system and would begin apprehending that either these politicians are not worth getting their votes or their own votes are worthless.