Policy Myopia And Adhocism: How Pakistan Repeatedly Betrays Public Trust |
The history of public policy-making is rife with instances of myopia and ad hocism. It, however, does not mean that policy formulation is done overnight; rather, it is a laborious process that takes months before any policy summary is sent to the Prime Minister. Often, a single policy has to have inputs from other ministries too, such as law or finance. And yet, here we are, with a long saga of policy retraction at the expense of the people.
Let me bring in a couple of examples here, although there are many more. In 1992, the government adopted a policy whereby it decided to promote the use of CNG in road transport vehicles. The policy was shaped by several challenges, including a shortage of foreign exchange, as ever, with the oil import bill consuming as much as ~25% of earnings from exports, and the Persian Gulf crisis of 1990–91, which caused disruptions in oil supplies and a steep rise in international oil prices.
The new policy sought to ensure that the adoption of CNG would substitute costly oil imports with local gas reserves, thereby saving critical foreign exchange. Besides, the policy also emphasised that not only would CNG help reduce environmental pollution, as it was described as a ‘green fuel’, but it would also help make Pakistan a ‘fuel-sovereign’ state in the context of the Persian Gulf crisis.
The government........