New Delhi, Feb 8 (IANS) Pakistan, despite all its boasting and bragging, remains enmeshed in financial crises, forcing its population to endure hardships and extreme circumstances. The country pulls no punches in blaming external factors and geopolitical forces for the troubles within, but a damning report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has exposed its failures on multiple counts, ranging from fiscal indiscipline, erosion of governance and government accountability.
According to the IMF’s Pakistan: Governance and Corruption Diagnostic (GCD) Report, the country’s economic fragility is more than figures on a balance sheet, as it has accumulated over the years due to weak institutions and compromised oversight.
The GCD report provides an in-depth diagnosis of the shortcomings plaguing the nation and offers solutions for course-correction.
“In the absence of an independent judiciary, the rule of law, which is the bedrock of any functioning economy, is similarly compromised,” Dawn reports, citing the critical and damning observations.
It has also suggested a plethora of reforms for correcting several wrongs of the past and unlocking a series of policy reforms, including activating the civil society’s participation.
“Civil society’s perspective is helpful in taking a holistic view of the governance paradigm. Numerous reform blueprints exist in the country, but what is missing is sustained implementation that rejects political interference,” says the report.
“Whichever country lacks formal checks and balances, public scrutiny, investigative journalism and community monitoring, there is an increasing possibility of power misuse,” it adds while urging the country to make civil society a central actor in reform.
“Civil society has the ability to boost evidence-based public discourse. It is easy for technically complex governance reforms to be buried in bureaucratic jargon. In fact, they should be translated into easily comprehensible analyses, which explain, for instance, how tax exemptions compromise tax equality or how loopholes in procurement inflate costs. This can inform parliamentary debate and improve public understanding,” it further suggests.
Further pitching the civil society as “constructive policy interlocutor”, it says that the reforms will face resistance or capture unless there is consultation and therefore, they serve as important link in facilitating this progression.
They also play a pivotal role in preventing corruption and inculcating the ethos of integrity.
“Sustained advocacy against arbitrary exemptions in taxation can bring the consequences of elite privilege under scrutiny and build public support for an equitable tax base,” the report further points out.
It further says that reforms cannot be episodic, crisis-driven or externally imposed; rather, they must be rooted in constitutionalism.
–IANS
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