Another one bites the dust

Another wicket is down. Tabish Gauhar is not the first SAPM to go unceremoniously and in an untimely manner. He came with some corporate success in the bag and was a private equity person - known to redo organizations and exit. There was nothing wrong with him; but he wasn't fitting into the government system. In fact, no government system has an appetite for quick change management. And in Pakistan, the system is rotten. It cannot change in a day. The government needs smart people, who operate quietly - like Dr Sania Nishtar.

The government probably needs thinkers, not merely doers. The government needs people with high emotional quotient (EQ), not merely high intelligence quotient (IQ). The bureaucracy operates in a very different way. Special Assistants to PM and or ministers need patience. People of high EQ along with excellent IQ survive. For example, Nadeem Baber withered a few crises and survived. Not much to take home about his performance; but he is sticking around. On the other hand, Asad Umer's people management was not great (an EQ problem) and he was removed from the position of FM. While Dr Hafeez Sheikh (not as energetic and hardworking as Asad) is sailing along due to his better people management.

The other way to look around is (as pointed out by a policy advocates) that there is a basic mismatch between the matters of running a government and a corporate. The cultures and expectations are very different and unless one is in for a long haul, and has a very patient demeanor, it does not work. Some think that these appointments are wrong decisions on part of the government and on part of those who accept it.

The other problem is the resentment in bureaucracy, ruling party politicians and other stakeholders. If they see outsiders jumping into their potential roles, they lobby against them. There were efforts deployed to tarnish the reputations of people assuming public sector roles. They have to make their position. It's a skill not everyone possesses.

A few months back, there were media campaigns run against Tania Aidrus and Dr Zafar Mirza, before them existing. Last week, a video was circulated against Tabish's potential conflicts before the news of his resignation surfaced. Another media campaign is ongoing against the National Bank of Pakistan President Arif Usmani. Why this mud-slinging? Such practices would discourage good people from joining the government.

The government needs to rethink its strategy altogether. This regime has seen a few corporate gurus failing. The experience of past two and half years suggests that people coming from corporate backgrounds are less likely to gel in with the system. People coming from a regulatory and bureaucratic background are better suited. But Dr Zafar Mirza came from the World Health Organization (WHO), and failed. The more important point is flexibility and adaptability. One needs to change to bring the change - it's give and take. For example, Dr Reza Baqir survived after all the criticism. The kind of resistance he faced in the first nine months was not an easy thing to handle. He took his time, and accepted ground realities and now his position is cemented. And still he is bringing change.

People in the government need to be more thinkers than doers. Moeed Yousaf is surviving because he is thinking at the very basic level and building on it. His people's skills are good too. The problems are deeply rooted in Pakistan. The structural issues need time to resolve. But the expectations from these SAPMs and others is to do the firefighting; along with bringinglong term solutions. Shabbar Zaidi at Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was pressed on meeting short-term taxation targets. At the same time, he was working on resolving structural issues. He was facing a media trial. Lobbies were against him. He got anxiety disorder, and left.

It's not an easy job to survive as an outsider in the government or in a regulatory role. Those who come need to understand the challenges. They need time to settle and should "think" more than focusing on "doing" from the day one. The job at high levels is primarily planning and policymaking; not firefighting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021