As a result of massive corruption, Pakistan today is virtually in a state of economic bankruptcy, although this has not been officially admitted. Banks have stopped opening letters of credit (LCs) and industries across the country are coming to a grinding halt as raw materials cannot be imported.
The industrial area of Faisalabad – once a bustling industrial city, known for its textile manufacturing – is slowly turning into a ghost town. The country is sinking rapidly, and the vultures hover above to pick up the pieces. This is largely due to the corrupt system in which bureaucrats, politicians and ‘others’ involved in mega corruption get away scot-free.
Pakistan faces three interconnected problems: a poor education system that has fostered massive illiteracy with 22 million out-of-school children, corruption in the judicial system, and the stranglehold of corrupt politicians, which allows the corrupt to pile billions abroad as loot and plunder go on unabated.
Pakistan has never had a presidential system of democracy, as under this system the president is directly elected by the people through a national election. Such democracies exist in France, the US and 77 other countries.
There are two main advantages of the presidential system of democracy. The first is that there is a better separation between the three key areas of governance: the legislative, the executive and the judiciary. In a parliamentary system, the prime minister heads the ruling party and controls parliament as well as the executive, resulting in an overlap. The second advantage is that the president can appoint the most qualified experts in the country as federal ministers, and the role of parliament is reduced to the framing of laws. This results in the presence of experts as federal ministers who better understand the importance of the new and emerging technologies and the path to transitioning to a knowledge economy.
In the present parliamentary system, people wishing to be elected must spend Rs20 crores or more on election campaigns. This limits the composition of parliament to the rich and the powerful, resulting in elite capture of governance.
A fresh start is necessary if this nation is to survive. In this era of knowledge-driven economies, specialization has become a must for survival and progress. A fresh start is necessary if this nation is to survive. In this era of knowledge-driven economies, specialization has become a must for survival and progress.
