THE briefing given to the media by Adviser to Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms Dr Ishrat Hussain, along with Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz, on Friday conveyed a vivid impression that the Government was working seriously to accomplish the gigantic task of restructuring of national institutions in a phased manner. The most important aspect of the process of reforms is the policy of the Government to appoint heads of these institutions on purely merit.
The issue of the right man for the right job assumes immense significance as non-appointment of heads of state institutions or ad-hoc appointments have played havoc with many institutions. Most of these institutions excelled in the past and made worthwhile contribution to overall national development but became lacklustre mainly due to undue interference by successive governments in their affairs. Prime Minister Imran Khan, therefore, deserves credit for assigning the onerous task of making merit-based appointments of heads of institutions to Dr Ishrat Hussain, who has an unblemished record as deliverer. However, it is of utmost importance that appointments should be made expeditiously as already a lot of time has been lost and as a result many of the institutions have become almost moribund. It would be in the fitness of things if new heads are given time-bound targets to achieve besides required autonomy to run their institutions purely on professional lines. There is no doubt that some of the organizations are overstaffed due to politically motivated inductions and superfluous staff will have to be jettisoned to make them viable. However, the so-called right-sizing should not be the only approach to make them sustainable as on the other hand the approach leads to increase in unemployment. The plans unfolded by the Government for Pakistan Railways (its bifurcation in five entities), Pakistan Steel and PIA seem to be workable. Large unmanageable power companies are a major burden on national exchequer and their efficiency can be increased if they are split into district level entities under the district governments as it would then be much easier to tackle issues like line losses, corruption and improvement of the worn-out system.
