SOMETIMES I fail to understand our national obsession with loss-making. Other times, times when I step back and put on a realistic lens, I completely understand the obsession, for it exists for reasons that I will leave to your imagination.
Loss-making and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are terms that go hand-in-hand in the Islamic Republic. As of last month, the losses of SOEs namely Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), and Pakistan Railways (PR) among others have accumulated to Rs 2.5 trillion, a staggering equivalent to 8.8 billion US dollars. The financial burden of these resource hogs amidst perhaps one of the worst economic times in the country sends shivers down my spine… and that of anyone with a sense of responsibility for this beautiful country.
Barring all figures and losses mentioned above, successive governments, despite being cash-strapped and under strict monetary conditionalities by international funds, have happily bankrolled these SOEs, all from borrowed money. It almost seems one area that our state policy presents continuation and uniformity government after government is the callous funding of these very SOEs.
First and foremost is the case of our national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines. As per reports, the accumulated losses of PIA have crossed Rs 600 billion, with outstanding debts and liabilities of another couple of hundred billion, despite receiving bailout after bailout. PIA sustains and sometimes flies, all under the guise of some 8000 jobs, evading all civil aviation dues and sometimes even refusing to pay for the very fuel it promises to fly great people with. In simpler words, PIA has lost money under all governments and boards, and for that, privatize, we must.
The Pakistan Steel Mills is another wonder of the Islamic Republic. Closed for eight whole loss-making years, the PSM owes over 100 Billion Rupees to the National Bank and the Sui Southern. It is mind-boggling to think of the inefficiency and incompetence that breathes within these SOEs that despite years of being practically funded by governments for no good reason, they keep losing billions and keep asking for more.
When discussing SOEs and loss-making, it would be an incomplete article without the mention of the glorious Pakistan Railways. Data received from an online publication reiterates how wonderfully this enterprise of the state is performing. Last year, the government gave Rs 45 billion to cover the operation losses plus an added Rs 25 billion for development. The year before presented a similar situation where Rs 59 billion were handed out.
While, currently PR has nothing to show for the money it has received over the last decade, it seems as if it does not intend on improving the situation either. For crying out loud, it has also been reported that the railway bureaucracy wants the governments to borrow another 7 billion US dollars for new tracks. Perhaps that added 7 bn will do the magic! The solution is straightforward. New money poured into these SOEs will be a waste and for that, privatize, we must!
—The writer is Assistant Editor, daily Pakistan Observer, Islamabad.
Email: [email protected]
views expressed are writer’s own.
