Over the last two years, both within Pakistan and abroad, people have expressed concerns about Pakistan’s bad governance. Although the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party claims that these concerns are unrealistic, Transparency international’s recent report, suggests that Pakistan has been slipped 8 ranks in Corruption Perception Index (CPI), from 42nd position in 2009 to 34th most corrupt country. In most cases, and particularly in reference to Pakistan, corruption and poverty are intertwined.
This argument is supported by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) annual report which says that poverty ratio in the country rapidly rising due to slow economic growth. SBP estimates that the out of Pakistan’s population, which increased from 119 million in 1990 to 184 million in 2010, almost 40 percent lives below poverty line.
In absence of political will to accept the existence of corruption, the process of private sector reforms become ineffective, discouraging businesses to expand and reinvest into the economy. The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics expressed its concerns that the country might fall into stagflation trap without decisive and concrete action to check inflation and reduce government borrowings.
The economic challenges for Pakistan are alarming. Political consensus is necessary to deal with the menace of corruption, which in turn will help improve the economic climate of the country. The question is, “who will bell the cat?“
Published Date: November 09, 2010