- Too little too late?
That Prime Minister Imran Khan intended radical changes in Punjab reflected the growing feeling that something had to be done about the poor governance afflicting the largest province, not least because it was last year’s win in the province that had allowed the PTI to get enough seats to form the government. Added to the poor performance of the federal government on the economy was the malaise of governance in the country’s largest province, where no change was visible despite the tall claims of the government. It was hoped that Mr Khan would make radical changes on his recent visit to the province, which would include the sacking of non-performing ministers, or even perhaps Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, on whose selection Mr Khan particularly prided himself, even though his total previous experience had been as a tehsil nazim.
Mr Buzdar, it seems, has survived, as have his ministers, but neither the Chief Secretary nor the IGP have. It seems that the bureaucracy has once again been obliged to carry the can for the government’s failures of governance. It does seem too frequent an occurrence for comfort. This would be the third Chief Secretary and fifth IGP of this government’s tenure of only 15 months. Going by the past, one would expect either official to have a tenure of about two years. Apart from the question of frequency, there is the issue of manner. That the heads of the provincial bureaucratic hierarchies can be so summarily removed militates against the good governance the PTI promised, and is a dampener on the spirits of their juniors. Both officials have not had the courtesy of a word of explanation offered and the likelihood of another reshuffle down the line is a further dampener on bureaucratic spirits.
The idea that the bureaucracy is still somehow beholden to the Sharifs is now wearing thin as an excuse for non-performance. It almost seems that PTI stalwarts do not want so much to remove that influence they are supposed to have had over officialdom, as to be able to exercise it themselves. However, while the government must be wished every success in its attempt to improve, scepticism must be excused. Reshuffling bureaucrats has been tried before, and now it seems that everyone has been tried, so why should they succeed now?
