Once upon a time, there was a severe scarcity of fodder in the forest. The lion said to the goat that sacrifice should be made in this difficult time, so you would eat fodder once and give milk three times a day.
As the fable goes, the goat said to the lion — the king, of course — that there was no point putting all the burden on the weak animals, and that this time the strong should also sacrifise to come out from this difficult time. To this suggestion, the lion said: “You do not know that sacrifice is accepted only when it is fair and just, and we, the strong, are all criminals.” That surely left the poor goat speechless!
The fable fits perfectly with our situation, for people bear all the burden of inflation, as they are told that the country is going through a difficult time, and, therefore, the people should offer sacrifices.
Just a look at the size of the federal cabinet is enough to make the point. Even the prime minister himself would struggle to recall the exact number of ministers, advisers and others with fancy titles.
The United States, the largest economy in the world with gross domestic product (GDP) of over $25 trillion, has a cabinet that has all of 16 people. China, the second largest economy with a GDP of around $18 trillion and home to the largest population in the world, has 21 ministers.
What justification is there to have the cabinet of the size that we have? We are among the poorest countries in the world, having been ranked 157th on the global economic ladder. There is a lot of input related to the cabinet in the shape of protocols and perks. What is the output? At best, it would be zero, but it may well be in the negative.
This is a huge burden on the national kitty. Such self-serving steps by the government will take the country towards bankruptcy. Someone has to take decisions for the betterment of the country and put it on the right track.
YAHQUB LODHI
KARACHI
