Adeela Khan
“Power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all Indian leaders will be of low calibre & men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts. They will fight amongst themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles.”
The statement above is attributed to Churchill. I cannot find it, as a speech or in a book. Although it is widely and increasingly quoted in the Indian press and, given what is happening, he seems to have been prophetic! -K.P., India.
The “rascals, rouges” all what Winston Churchill foresaw, and thats what every poor soul in this piece of land Pakistan also experienced so far. They have gone this time for another option, PTI or Imran Khan to be more precise. In a hope to end the prophecy of Churchill the Public with a very close margin has gone for seemingly an upstart party to try them at the helm of affairs.
The Dilli dally democracy dared to take off third time consecutively in Pakistan.Every one and I mean everyone in and outside Pakistan keeps predicting some even to a prophetic extent about a party unknown to the power corridors, their upcoming ventures. Drawing different conclusions from a plethora of things ranging from the family to education and the political uttering stretched to almost 22 years coming in limelight or spotlight only 5 years back.
An ordinary soul like me can only find it not simply confusing rather convincing that a man(IK) a party (PTI) so prone to predictions, prophecies, and pompous paraphrasing has literally been able to bring “tabdeeli” reverberating every fabric of the political intelligentsia.
Our so called opinion leaders infusing the public minds from 6 to 10 on coloured screens, overwhelmingly Punjab centric, with very few exceptions, hardly educated enough to impress upon their shallow intellectual aura in their punjabi dialects even seem more of a mess rather than pouring something sensible on the public ears what can be next, relying their so called analysis heavily with a few sensational and investigative news leads about nominations and inter and intra party politics.
International media whatever reported on the GE 2018 seems even more in a state of awe and surprise sending scintillating sense of complete intellectual chaos, a total failure to predict analyse or even give a balanced opinion, topping it up and unable to hide their officially religious bias towards some of country’s prime institutions like Pak Army and superior Judiciary.
Tabdeeli(Change) at least has started in exposing many friends and foe alike, of system ,state and status quo. The intellectual paraphernalia littered across print electronic and social media pouring in from all sides onto the new regime, and may be rightly so as the claims coming form container to camera of media and mobile now demands practicality at least in shape of setting some direction in the initial days of PTI Governance. Populace has grown sane enough to gauge the materialisation of “tabdeeli” in the coming days and hence take a sigh of relief.
The conventional means with every government to start with would be the ECONOMY as the foremost agenda which would never go on track with so called austerity of cutting down upon recurring expenses of PM house the CM houses and a few of bureaucratic privileges.
Though not bad to send signals of a changed management, a government heavily intent upon taking care of Taxpayer money which, only resounds and reminds us when looking at some Hollywood movie or listening to some Western Official, is some direction everyone would vouch for.
In a world driven by the characters explained by Churchill this is a news for the masses.A Westminster Democratic system adopted or imposed in the sub-continent has now attained a level of a sacred system almost a cult against which a single line invites the wrath of the very powerful stakeholders spread across the educated intellegentia of the society.
Has it delivered so far or not remains highly debatable, but the medium which can only initiate this debate has become the main stakeholder of the system i.e Media, hence any such debate even if anyone dares can result in complete blackout. Resultantly, anyone wondering to bring “Tabdeeli” will have to come through the system itself and have to tailor his agenda within the given parameters of so many “Pillars” of Democracy, and the foremost is that they agree with what the Tabdeeli Wala wants to bring in. Anything contra to their stakes would send him into the annals of history with bad name.
But should and could we ask the “Democracy” so far understood by us in the last 70 years has worked towards what we wanted it to achieve? Or it has proved the prophecy of Churchill.
A glance at the current transition of government, and the last two stint respectively run by PPP and PML(N) reveals so many inabilities of the system itself that it becomes needless to comment that the current system of governance can deliver anything to the masses except degeneration and decay and making society further polarised to the extent of chaos and confusion now.
A house of more than 400 hundred elected and selected “public” representatives supposed to mainly legislate for the country. Have they ever? Any survey any analysis any commentary or documentary will educate that they have not. Not at all. Spending so many millions on their daily debates, committees, sub-committees and standing committees only adding to paper filth, and the records shows a lot of them in their entire tenure of 3 or 5 years never spoke a word. More recently the flocks of unelected elite added under the garb of women empowerment, are the least to add even a single speech for any debate, however adding to branded wearing and gossip to “parliamentary supremacy”. What can be understood only is “men of Straw” and perhaps Churchill referred “sweet tongues and silly hearts” to the female lot in the house elected or otherwise.
Wait! this sacred house did add something called the famous 18th Amendment to the system, the contribution infused in the minds of the public or we may call them Sheeple, by the 18th Amedment was designed by sweet tongues and of silly hearts. Words like decentralisation, more empowerment to the Provinces and local governments e.t.c
To many having their hearts at the right place it was termed as 9 11 of Pakistan. It has added to a state of chaos and confusion, the bureaucracy by far the most relevant to have resisted for the good of country have criminally lost themselves into the oblivion of good postings and fear of getting transferred added by hot pursuit of materialism very recently.
Well having been orchestrated by the most Sacred of the Houses “parliament” crowned with same silly words and the sheeple without a word fell in line ranging from judiciary to bureaucracy, none resisted none debated in the house of 400 put a stamp and there you are: Education? Provincial subject,Health; provincial subject; energy; provincial subject; Law & Order; Provincial Subject and the list goes on. Federation fades into fiefdom of making ministries with large names and nothing to do except adjusting the high level bureaucracy and offering minister status to the elected ones with state ministers and parliamentary secretaries, all ghost offices and building heavy on state exchequer adding entourage on the roads of Islamabad only.
18th Amendment was a plan to plunder un disturbed! It was agreed in the “Meesaq-e-Jhamooriyat” a pact of democracy to be exact signed between two parties, hardly representing the entire population of this 220 million poor souls. Yet, it gave them mandate to decentralise the tools to plunder in the name of Health and Education services, which indicators show degeneration and food for sensationalist media round the country. Although none can oppose decentralisation in true sense and spirit which should have trickled down to the Local government level. What happened was that the local governments particularly in Punjab and Sindh were deliberately rendered redundant using the same Amendment, in the name of provincial autonomy and straightening the federation, which in-fact turned out to be weakening the Federation and taking control of very important subjects. This agreement of Meesaq-e-Jhamooriyat” followed by the enactment from the supreme legislators body of the country gave the provincial authorities license to loot. Despite putting Billions into Health and Education and billions more in the campaigns to their achievements flagged with photos of the Chief Ministers Everywhere, the real service improvement still remains a dream, cosmetic uplifting seemed to be the prime objectives to win votes, while the real indicators did not move as was being propagated in the last five years. This decentralisation topped up with influx of “companies” and money making machines(Multinationals) pouring into education and health has made the access to system even more impossible, the
The PTI setting certain standards of what performance in a government means in their heavily crowded Jalsas, now has to prove it very quickly, and the second most important part would be the welfare aspect of the masses(indicated in the first speech of PM IK). The Health and Education as the primary focus and Housing ,Sanitation,Local Governance (Thana & Patwar) and at least uninterrupted supplies of Gas Water and Electricity. Needless to add on Foreign Policy and security as they remain to be the sin qua non for the achievement of the all what is said above.
The plan behind the amendment seemed flawless in the name of decentralisation, empowerment of the federating units, quick decision making at the grass root level and many other jargons sweet to the ears of the masses, yet the heart behind this sweet song were silly. They clearly knew their performance so far shall limit both the partners of “meesaq” to their origin of Provinces. Moreover, both were not even interested to play National Politics at all, as they were recoiling to their provinces they agreed to make the federation redundant and play as they like with the fate of masses.
Now travelling across the 2700 km stretch of the country from Gilgit to Gwadar you find all the variety only in governance, with different police uniforms to different PPRA rules and systems of education and health. This movement further fomented the pace of provincialisation of Pakistan starting from ruling parties themselves down to the education system. Any sane eye can gauge the Amendment intact is leading not to decentralisation but more of disintegration as the only two national level parties have already paved the way for that. An amendment to the constitution should at least have been discussed beyond the parliament too but it never happened. It was a swift and sudden move like other amendments and so called legislation particularly in the era of PPP, an example in this is the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University(PIMS) Act, just going through the so called Act makes fun of 400 plus politicians banging the desks and raising their hands only when asked by their political boss.
System has literally gone to “rascals and freebooters”(Churchills Prophecy) in the provinces playing the fiddles of this so called decentralisation and devastation. Just glazing through the number of bail before arrests in Sindh by the bureaucrats and politicians and number of embezzlements and thefts committed with the Health and Education PPRA e.t.c in Punjab and new cases surfacing everyday on Media in KPK is an evidence enough to prove 18th Amendment more of a tool a licence to loot rather having any benefit for the masses bereft of any standard of health education or other amenities of life supposed to be the basic mandate of a state. The poor masses are not lucky enough to at least have a uniform system of education or Health.
How on earth can a federation have a single system of bureaucracy even when they are educated in four different systems of education only, and the fissures are going even deeper, thus entailing it further into more of a recipe of disintegration rather than decentralisation.
Another proof is the federal bureaucracy always trying to be posted in there respective provinces and continuously upgrading their existing posts in the provinces, while being posted to Federal government becomes a nightmare for them as most of the ministries are only meant for “co-ordination” and are merely “councils”. The apathy of the incumbents of federal secretariat is evident even in their day to day dealings with the government business, their continuous flashbacks of their royal provincial assignments and comparing it with their current toothless and redundant offices(though in higher grades) makes it more clear for a sane mind to identify their indifference. This disinterest in the government business at federal level and an urge to get into their province till retirement makes it more of a collusion (for more decentralised system) of this important tier of governance, hence adding fuel to disintegrate and weaken the central mode of governance. One can say it is in everybody’s interest to weaken the centre, except those being ruled, being on the receiving end waiting for a quality health and education care, waiting to have access to basic amenities of life promised by the state all around the world.
Health sector beyond 18th Amendment
In Pakistan hardly has been the focus for local or national governments, however, of late the last governments which includes PTI as well, has taken it as prime agenda point and showing off different initiatives, which has contributed a lot towards improvement in the patient care. Yet, setting a clear and defined direction of where to go has not yet taken hold of the files in the Health Secretaries offices. And that be the focal point most of the times ignored while reforming the Health Care Governance.
Donor driven trainings ,Seminars/conferences going on daily around the country only invite and focus mainly on Healthcare professionals sans the Secretariats from where any implementation originates. Missing this tier and frequent invitations to the DGs and Directors/DHOs result into ultimate failure of the initiative or policy to take the root. Reason are multifarious and multi dimensional which need proper redressal at the highest levels along with a bit change of thought at the donor level too.
The frequency of these meetings and trainings foremost makes it impossible for the Secretary offices to attend sometimes most fundamental and crucial meetings and trainings, on the other hand too much trainings and meetings by the second tier management of Health establishments wards off the capacity of those attending them to learn or internalise the theme, also this frequency adds on to apathy towards even carefully listening whats being imparted with such huge expense resultantly on ground implementation never happens and all goes in vain.
Take for instance the Polio Immunisation Campaigns (NIDs) round the year being religiously supervised and monitored by all the tiers of Federal and Provincial Governments. These mop up campaigns follow ups assessments post an pre campaign meetings right from Assistant Commissioner to the the Secretary level and then meetings on Federal and Provincial Levels has made this a burden for all the levels and even the public response is resentful. The realisation is there at the highest level yet since its a Donor Driven Activity further forced by the state organs itself has resulted in carrying it on blindly, failing to reach the ultimate goal of a Polio Free Pakistan.
Why such a Nationally emphasised activity failed to stop this nation of Millions taking polio drops before they leave for any destination across the globe?
1.The activity has failed to take roots in the healthcare system and immunisation still persists to be problem despite all the govt. machinery engaged every month. The reason again is very obvious ,the apathy at political and administrative levels and taking the activity itself for granted( being routine). Most prime of the reasons is the failure of the health governance model to make it an integral part of the routine like OPD, though being reported all the time.
Have a look at the administrative data and the figures cross 100 percent even from the remotest of the regions like Gilgit-Baltistan, then:
Why has immunisation or Polio not been part of our routine healthcare system where it should have been the prime duty of the Health Administration to make it an integral part of the prevention or curative system in the healthcare facilities?
An in depth analysis of this single component leads to the core problem in the Health Governance of Pakistan. And reply to why have we not been able to achieve either MDGs or SDGs.
unless takes roots there is impossible to change the Health Governance Models cross the length and breadth of Healthcare Governance in Pakistan. The internalisation of any change must and shipload start from the top of the system i.e the Secretariat and SECRETARY OFFICES ITSELF.
The writer is a Public Health Specialist, Anthropologist and Human Rights Activist based in Islamabad.
