By Dr Ali Akbar Dhakan
On spending such a huge amount on the preparation for elections only one candidate becomes an MNA or MPA while the numerous losers may turn bankrupt.The winner uses his power to be the strongest candidate for making himself a member of the cabinet and sometimes he even tries to exploit others and demands heavy financial and personal benefits for his vote in the selection of the Prime Minister, the President or some Senator.He takes it to be the first chance to fill in his empty purse.After this, he will try to be more resourceful by way of earning money through winning a quota of employment orders of different natures and designations, permits, contracts, visas, allotment of lands and purchase of buildings etc.In this way, he earns twice or thrice more higher than the amount he spent on his elections.He tries to get more and more money because he got himself elected in the first instance through spending money.
Now in such a system of elections, which is based upon expenditure and wastage of money, it forces the candidates to fill his ”empty” pockets.Thus the prevalent system of elections makes the politician or parliamentarian or MNA/MPA much greedy to earn atleast the amount he spent on elections and also an equivalent amount to prepare for a similar showdown in the future.In these circumstances, he is blamed to be corrupt and therefore hovers in malpractices rather than to act or work for the service of others.Consequently he either loses his trust or the law enforcing agencies ultimately run behind him to identify all his activities and book him but only after the dissolution of assemblies or governments.We should give more thought to this national problem as to why a parliamentarian becomes the target of being corrupt, inefficient and dishonest.It is therefore advisable that the Government should defray the expenditure to be incurred on elections by each candidate.All the candidates should either take part without canvassing or some other criterion may be fixed for the candidature of MNAs/MPAs, otherwise corruption cannot be avoided.Another way can be to fix reasonable monthly salaries of MNAs/MPAs so that they may be compelled to avoid undue expenditure and adopt austerity in their day to day lives.
If elections are held on party basis and individual ”Azad” members are also allowed and in case, no party gets the majority, there arises the need to establish a Coalition Governement.The parties go on to try buying votes exactly on the expected exploitative and bargaining terms.The party having more seats leans towards independent winners or other small parties and in this manner, no stable Government comes into existence.It remains at the mercy of individuals or small parties just as the previous Government or Governments remained stooges of small groups and individual members.If no party obtains more than the majority seats as it was sustained by the past Governments assemblies that were dissolved with one stroke of the pen of the President under the present constitution’s Article No 58(2)(b).It means that the practice of dissolving Governments just for the sake of bringing another weak Government through holding of next elections will be a futile effort and in fact a big joke with the nation and the country itself.
We have faced a chequered political history in Pakistan.No government has completed its tenure and each time they were thrown out much before maturity and stabilty primarly due to their fragile status in the constitution and the practice of using elusive money.This is why vested interests within outside the country have created an uncertainty and resulted in a waivering psycology of minds and mentality whereby given way to unfair means and injustice in our daily dealings.On account of uncertain conditions and fragility of the Government, such ”professionals and bussinessmen” use the politicians resourcefulness who are much closer to the higher echelons and dicision-makers.
on the other hand such politicians who cannot win a majority of seats or even one seat, become arrogant and lose their sense of tolerance and forebearance.Within no time after elections and establishment of the new set up of Governements, they start off to create nuisance and build tensions, hardships and other tractics to over throw the newly established Governments both in the centre and in the provinces.They even get the people killed and purposely create a law and order situation in the country.Such situations are created by vested interest and defeated politicians, not only harm our social unity and integrity as a whole and become a great danger for the very existence of the country itself, but the whole economic system is disturbed by their spend thrift activities.The economy suffers from less production and income hindering the people from being more prosperous and economically sound.Repeated calls for strikes, train marches, Dharnas(forcible attacks and creation of hindrances) change the psycology of the nation and feelings of hatred and unblessings are offered for dethroning the Governement machinery.
If governmnets are not allowed to work peacefully and freely, there remains little hope of any economic and social development.It is the stable Government which stabilises everything for the betterment of the nation otherwise no production, no exports, no education, no well-being, no prosperity, no good days of weal, no security of life, no peace, no chances of more employment, no development in the field of agriculture and industry will be expected.It is now up to us to establish a stable and strong Government and try to bestow it the chance of running freely and peacefully so that it can do some serious work.
CAUSES OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION (iii)
Meanwhile, it becomes the national duty of the losers to provide proper guidance and advice to the Government machinery as and when there is any loophole seen in the working system of the Government.
Lack of national cohesion is another thraet.Politicians of each province feel themselves restricted to areas from where they have been elected to the National and provencial Assemblies.They do not show the spirit of sincerity and faithfulness to the people belonging to other parts of the land rather they make all out efforts to discourage and dodge them while assist only those who belong to the vicinity and locality of their own.National unity does not flourish in this way as a sense of disruption and deprivation occurs in the minds of the people of neglected areas of the country.Their representives are less influntial or away from powerful groups of the Government. The stability of political system depends upon the cooperation and devotion of the bureacracy because as politicians are temporary organs of the office management whereas bureaucrats are permanent.Sincerity and blessings of the of the bureaucracy remains with the politicians who belong to their own areas otherwise they create difficulty and leak out secrets of the offices or working system just for defaming their bosses who are from the other areas and do not belong to those areas to which they belong.This is why ministers and politicians who do not belong to their areas,are more exposed to corruption and are therefore target of allgations and blames in the eyes of the whole nation. This uncertainly is the main cause of corruption and bribe in our country. People feel that the system will not prevail for long and therefore become a part for efforts to earn more and more in the shortest possible time.
The president of the country remains silent and then suddenly after long time of about 2-3 years, starts watching the activities of the Governmnet either on his own behest or through an invisble hand which becomes a source of some hatred and conflict between the president and the Government.He should try to pin point all dubious actions from the very beginning and guide the Government properly for running its machinery on the right tracks.Spouse or any relatives of the Government machinery may not be given so much liberty that they become part of the Government and create a bad name for the Government itself.
There are chances of corruption and bribe on account of appointments, postings, deputation, transfer, reshuffling etc. of bureaucrats from one profession to another.Non- technical and non-professional people are posted to technical and professional jobs.Even military people are being assigned both in the technical and professional civilian jobs.Further bureacrats belonging to the central Government are posted and appointed or deputed to the posts belonging to the provincial jobs.Non-bankers are appointed to the posts of banks, DFIs and other financial institutions.Joint Secretaries, section Officers etc become the bankers and are posted to financial institutions whereas bankers have never been posted to the posts of bureacrats.This sort of reshuffling, deputation, posting, appointment etc create bad example in the running of the concerned management of organisations and creates sense of heart burning and misappropriation etc in the psychology of workers, employees, officers etc.
CAUSES OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION (V)
By Dr Ali Akbar Dhakan
It has also been seen that bureaucrats get sympathy from the bureaucrats and non-bureaucrats are tortured and victimised by creating nuisance for them in the making of their career and mangement.The expenditures on the preparation and canvassing may be curtailed through the constitutional amendment.The limits of expenditure may be fixed and granted by the Government through District Co-ordination officers of the areas.The individual canvassing may be banned and all DCOs in their areas should arrange gatherings of all contesting candidates for each constituency three or four times in different areas.The contesting candidates should express their programmes and manifestos etc before the gatherings and face all the criticism, if any, soming from any side in such collective gatherings arranged by DCOs of t
he area.
The party, winning majority or more seats in comparison to other parties, may be allowed to establish its Government.
Independent winners should announce their support to the party which gets majority seats so that they may not be allowed to exploit the Government for seeking their support and sympathy.Such amendment may be made in the constitution.The tenure of the Government may be fixed for 4 years but for assemblies, the tenure should be for 5 years.The Governmnet should opt for getting a fresh vote of confidence after 3 years or the Government should itself change its new leader of the house.
Ministers may not be appointed for the sake of running various minstries.The names of ministries may be changed as divisions which will be run by the Secretary of each Division under the supervision of the prime minister who should appoint Advisors for the sake of seeking advice and guidance from their Advisors on each subject projects.In this way, heavy expenditures on the ministers can be avoided and there will not be chances of exploitation of the Government from the side of MNAs and MPAs.
CAUSES OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION (Vi)
All sections contained in the National constitution (harming) the stability, creating uncertainty in the people and making one man as a dictator, a troublemaker or an exploiter should be vanished and amended .
The baseless blames and alligations may not be spread out through publication in various news papers against politicians or bureaucrats. Such news of making allegations may be published after seeking proofs and clarifications from the alleged peoples. No non-technical bureaucrats may be posted or deputed and technical/professional jobs like engineering,banks, financial institution etc similarly, no military bureaucrat may be posted or deputed to the civilian orgaizations. Local people may be given the chance for posts lying vacant in the concerned locality or province.We should be sincere. In this conection, we should be more just and God fearing citizens of Pakistan otherwise salvation from the curse of corruption cannot be achieved. It should be our National duty to push out all irregularities, missapropriations, bunglings, illegal acts of the illdoers and point them out to the newly appointed Chief Accountability Commissioner with all proof and avidence for necessary actions.Such newly created CAC should continue to work for ever without fear, favour or any interference fromany quarter. The sense of deprivation can be averted by giving jobs to the unemployed educated people.More attention is required to be given to technical education. Technically educated people may be given opportunities to get jobs in their vicinties and technical institutions may be established at each district Headquarter. More shopping centres may be opened atleast at each District Headquarters and the local articians and craftsmen may be given chances to exhibit and sell their hands made goods in an abundant quantity to raise their incomes and fight out unemployment, poverty and price hike etc.we should follow God’s injunctions as quoted in the Holy Quran with the core of our hearts, ”we should cooperate in doing good deeds but dissociate ourselves from bad and corrupt doings and actions”. (AL-QURAN)
(concluded)