EDITORIAL : THE DAWN, PAKISTAN

NLC scandal

THE financial scandal at the army-run National Logistics Cell which caused a loss of nearly Rs1.8bn through illegal investments between 2004 and 2008 was back in the news on Saturday. Chairman NAB Fasih Bokhari told a press conference that the three generals implicated in the scam could be court-martialled by the army — if the army’s separate investigation produced evidence of serious wrongdoing. This is simply not good enough. The army’s investigation was announced in November 2010 at a time when it was believed that the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee under the chairmanship of Chaudhry Nisar was about to announce its own findings. November 2010 to July 2012 is long enough to have determined who in the army-run NLC was responsible for the losses suffered by the organisation and what criminal prosecution they should face — there being virtually no doubt that some financial malfeasance was involved.

Are the high-profile targets — now retired generals — the reason for the slow pace of the investigation? Very likely, yes. But it’s not just the army that may be trying to shield several of its own. NAB too seems to drag its feet when it comes to investigating corruption and misdeeds committed by men in uniform — leading to a suspicion that the many men who once served in uniform and now serve at NAB may be protecting their own kind. But then, what of the PAC, which gave the army time to follow through on its own investigation but has not pressed for a quick resolution of the affair (the PAC, though, is admittedly a rudderless committee since the exit of Chaudhry Nisar).

In matters of corruption, the debate can often break down to mindless partisanship. Talk about corruption in the armed forces or the judiciary, and supporters will hit back with endless stories of corruption in the political class. But perhaps therein lies a story worth exploring: while politicians have been given a bad name and hanged — literally in some cases — there is still a lack of genuine public understanding about the extent of corruption and malfeasance in other institutions. What that does is lead to a false choice: corrupt politicians out to squeeze every last drop they can from the system vs noble and patriotic men in other institutions who may be occasionally misguided but have Pakistan’s best interests at heart. So there’s a very real and urgent need to pull back the veil and take on whatever skeletons come tumbling out of hitherto closed closets. The NLC case, then, is a test case: a test for whether or not Pakistan is genuinely moving towards a more level playing field.

Doctors’ strike

WITH TV images of patients’ suffering being beamed live into every home, the striking young doctors in Punjab need to be aware that, regardless of the legitimacy of their demands, public patience may be wearing thin. Also that most of those being denied treatment are so poor that they rely solely on the strike-hit government hospitals for treatment. While the doctors say they aren’t protesting for more money, the Punjab government maintains that the ‘service structure’ they seek adds Rs23bn to the provincial health budget, an amount it can’t divert from frontline healthcare provision to their bank accounts. The government also says it has already given the young doctors raises worth Rs4.5bn. Unfortunately, all the signs are that the battle lines are hardening — especially after the police action last night on the Services Hospital hostel in Lahore that saw the arrest of dozens of doctors. Such a situation, both on the part of the doctors and the administration, whose strong-arm tactics cannot be condoned, does not augur well for patients, especially those who can’t afford private treatment.

Meanwhile, the element of militancy that has crept into the strike action has caused some senior professors and doctors to privately say they feel threatened if they staff outpatient departments, even though they are not bound by the strike call. It is sad that such action is now being associated with a noble profession that has public service at its core. We don’t need to remind the doctors of their Hippocratic Oath. Although the representatives of the Young Doctors Association, Punjab, have repeatedly said they are providing cover for essential medical services, they need only look in their own hospital yards to see the mass of suffering humanity. Now army doctors have been called in. Given the deadlock, what is needed is an independent arbitration and reconciliation service modelled after the UK’s ACAS which can be asked to step in if employees and employers can’t sort out disputes. For the moment, we can only call for restraint — especially after last night’s events — and dialogue so that the fundamental right to healthcare can be restored to the people.

High salaries, no merit

PAKISTAN’S national carrier has generated more controversy in recent times than many other state-owned enterprises. All matters ranging from the appointment of a new managing director, to his relations with employees or the board and chairman, to restructuring plans have been tainted with controversies. If the dispute over powers between the former PIA chairman and the new managing director that made headlines a few weeks ago was bad publicity for the airline, the management’s failure to fire the deputy managing director as recommended by the parliamentary committee on defence is equally damaging. Apparently, the committee had sought Salim Sayani’s sacking because of his failure to deliver what he was employed for and to justify his monthly salary package of Rs5m. Possibly, the management is not firing him because of the ‘high cost’ — equal to his salary for two years — his removal involves. The price may be high, but the intangible costs of his continuation in the job could be even higher.

Of late, the government is employing ‘professionals’ like Mr Sayani to fill top jobs in the SOEs and paying them exorbitant ‘market-based’ salaries. Ostensibly, it is done to ‘turn around’ the SOEs that have been reeling under years of mismanagement, corruption, overstaffing, political and bureaucratic interference and to make them profitable entities. Few would dispute this policy. But the problem does not lie so much in inflated salaries as in the ‘selection’ of ‘suitable’ people hired for political rather than professional reasons. If the SOEs, which are costing the country’s taxpayers Rs400bn annually, are to be restructured political and bureaucratic intervention will have to stop. This also holds true for the appointment of top managers who should be inducted on the basis of their competence alone. Only that will lead to the needed revamp of the SOEs on modern business lines.