Two important factors are the hallmark of the national politics and the national economy. On political front, the government doesn’t hesitate to lavishlyspend public money, but faces shortage of funds for social sector programmes. On economic front, the government spends millions of rupees to get meagre loan amount on heavy markup ratesfrom the world donor agencies but adjusts itself to new loan programmes to return the already consumed loans.The foreign dignitaries, who visit the presidency or the prime minister’s house, are taken aback to see the superb lunches and dinners and the rich style of living of the government officials at the cost of the public money. They often ridicule the officials, and of course the nation, in connotationwhen they find state of the national economy incompatible with the state of living.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is in Dubai nowadays to talk with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to get another installment of the loan to the tune of $550 million and the latest five percent increase in general sales tax on petroleum products has enabled the government not to seek any concessionsin structural benchmarks from the donor agency.The government has already ensured the IMF that Gas Infrastructure Development Cesscould not be recovered due to pendencyof a petition against it in the court.However, the government has increased general sales tax on petroleum products up to 27 percent from 17 percent a month ago while the public sector development programmehas been slashed by Rs258 billion to meet the revenue shortfall.The people have been made to incur losses covering electricity pilferage, system losses, and other expenditures to satisfy the donor agency. The Federal Board of Revenue has collected Rs1,165billion in the first half of 2014-15 as total revenue collections stand at Rs1,638billion after inclusion of Rs473billion in non-tax revenue which could not satiate the government thirst for more funds.
According to newspaper reports, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has made 16 foreign visits from July 2013 to September 2014, costing the national exchequer over Rs 294 million.The government always calls for austerity measures to save the public money, but in practical it uses the money as a personal matter. The first official visit of Sharif was to China.The five days visithad cost the nation Rs 26.2 million that is over Rs 5 million a day. Sharif spent Rs11.3 million in four-day visit to Turkey and Rs91.6 million in one week tour to New York. There is long list of tours and religious visits. The nation is deaf, dumb and blind. When sincerity is obscured and corruption is rampant, how long the nation will survive as a nation is a big question.
