Wasteful expenditure

Dawn Editorial
The country is facing severe economic issues, some of which are spiralling out of control. Due to factors as varied as mismanagement, terrorism and the power crisis, the output of the country’s industries has plummeted to an unprecedented low, foreign investment levels are dismal and workers are being laid off in large numbers.

The agricultural sector is in no better shape. It is suffering from the effects of long-term governmental mismanagement, outdated technology and global climate change. The ranks of the newly poor are swelling while inflation is rampant. Even the prices of daily essentials are on the increase while shortages are endemic. The country’s health, education and poverty alleviation systems are in a shambles. These are the grim realities of life in Pakistan today.

It is shocking, therefore, that the Punjab government has sanctioned the purchase of a Rs25m bulletproof Mercedes Benz for the use of the provincial governor, Salman Taseer. This is money, incidentally, that the government apparently does not have. Reportedly, the sum is to be drawn in advance through a supplementary grant before the close of the financial year as a special case by relaxing the rules. What is the pressing need for such a purchase when the federal and provincial governments have announced austerity measures that apply to all kinds of official expenditure from the presidency downwards?

Even if a case were to be made for the governor’s need for security, bulletproof vehicles — albeit older models — are already available. This extravagance amounts to rubbing salt into the wounds of the country’s population, wounds that the policies of the ruling elites have inflicted over the decades. Such an obscene display of wealth underscores the disparity between the rich and the poor and tips the balance towards anarchy and rebellion. Pakistan, which is fighting an insurgency in its north-western parts, simply cannot afford this crass profligacy.