Stemming the rot

The National Accountability Bureau Chairman, former Justice Javed Iqbal, has publicly expressed his displeasure over the lack of progress in inquiries under way in Punjab. Speaking at a cheque distribution ceremony in Lahore among affectees of a cash swindling and two housing society scams, he grumbled "the Punjab government is not co-operating with NAB in various inquiries." And that despite the passage of nearly three months, "most of the 56 public companies accused of massive corruption have not yet submitted all their records to the Bureau." Nor NAB had received the complete records of Multan Metro Bus project and Asiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme in Lahore, despite having made specific requests for them.
He mentioned specifically the problems his institution has been facing during the recent days in Punjab, apparently, because he was at a public event in Lahore. But by and large, governments in the other provinces are just as non-co-operative. Sindh has been offering stiff resistance to accountability inquiries against several public office-holders and bureaucrats, deciding last year to get rid of the NAB law itself. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have had their own share of frictions with NAB. And as a general policy, all relevant institutions, including NAB under its previous head, have been reluctant, even openly unwilling, to hold the high and mighty of the land to account. Governments at the centre and in the provinces can be expected to want to cover up their acts of omission or commission. That though cannot happen without the bureaucracy's collusion. In theory, members of the federal and provincial civil services are servants of the state whose duty it is to act in the public interest, and hence are supposed to be apolitical. In practice, bureaucracy in this country is heavily politicized.
The present poor state of governance is closely linked to bureaucrats cozying up to their political masters, their own involvement in corruption scandals, and consequent failure to protect and promote public welfare. As various suo motu notices taken by the Supreme Court have shown, a vast majority of the population remains deprived of such basic needs as clean drinking water and healthcare. A well-known and deeply disturbing reality is also that more than half of the population is illiterate because there are not enough schools, or are dysfunctional, or have ghost buildings and ghost teachers. This would not be going on had the bureaucracy performed its duties efficiently and honestly. There is little doubt about that the present system, a legacy of the British colonial rule, is in need of radical structural reforms, but there is no doubt also that those who have the power to do that are happy to have it the way it is. The NAB chief has stated his intention to get things done, warning the concerned bureaucrats not to follow unlawful instructions of their superiors. It remains to be seen if anyone will pay heed to the warning.