By Amir Zia
October 6, 2014
The News
To make his mark, Bilawal has to get rid of the wall not just around Bilawal House but also the walls of corruption and greed around himself and his party.
On September 28 the PPP’s young chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in an open letter to his estranged party supporters, apologised for all past mistakes and promised corrective measures to regain their confidence.
Although Bilawal avoided listing those mistakes which forced him to issue this personal apology, it is indeed a bold and courageous statement by the scion of the Bhutto-Zardari family, who celebrated his 26th birthday only last month. This is perhaps too tender an age to jump into the hurly-burly of politics and take responsibility for all those mega-mistakes that are certainly not of his doing. But then Bilawal appears as the last bet for the PPP to revive its waning political fortunes – thanks to its last stint in power at the centre and continuing poor governance, mismanagement, misrule and allegations of corruption in Sindh where it has been holding power since 2008.
Unlike his mother, Benazir Bhutto, who also joined Pakistan’s political fray and was in and out of prisons when she was also in her mid-to-late 20s, Bilawal has a far steeper challenge ahead of him. At least Benazir Bhutto did not carry any political baggage that tied her party to corruption, greed and financial scandals when she took its charge, though she confronted a far ruthless rival in the form of General Ziaul Haq and his civilian allies.
Today, the PPP’s biggest nemesis is not some General Ziaul Haq, but its own actions and poor performance record, which have eroded its popularity. The last general elections reduced the PPP mainly to rural Sindh. The party was not even a close number two in the other three provinces in the electoral race, losing its place to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and other parties.
The public perception about the PPP under the stewardship of Asif Ali Zardari overwhelmingly remains negative. During the previous five-year rule, he only managed to consolidate his reputation as a wily politician, but was unable to shrug-off the stigma or his love of dubious deals, financial scandals and nepotism which even now are reflected in the way the Sindh provincial government is being run.
Bilawal would have done himself and his party a favour if he had, in his apology, identified and listed at least some of those mistakes that disillusioned many of they party’s voters and supporters. The first step towards self-correction starts from honest self-criticism. His promise of ‘rectifying’ those mistakes may appear hallow because he evaded articulating them.
He can come up with another detailed self-critical note on his party’s failings and indicate a way forward and a departure from his father’s style of politics. His much-propagated October 18 rally in Karachi can be the day when according to his party stalwarts Bilawal takes charge.
But realistically speaking, such chances are dim. One can only hope against hope that young Bilawal will be able to come out of the shadow of his father and many political ‘uncles’ and ‘aunties’ with the sway of some magic wand. The PPP of today is too big an enterprise now that it has tied itself with all sorts of vested political and financial interests.
Nevertheless, Bilawal could still take some baby steps in the right direction by offering a sincere apology first to the people of Sindh, who have stood by his party through thick and thin and in return got the gift of Syed Qaim Ali Shah and his continuous rule.
If the PPP’s young chairman has his fingers on the pulse of Sindh politics, he should have known by now that it is one of the most inefficient and ineffective provincial governments – recognised more for its apathy towards the issues of the common man and poor governance than anything else.
The list of the PPP’s mistakes of omission and commission is certainly a long one, but here are some innocent pointers that can make at least a good beginning.
First of all, Bilawal should apologise to the people of Sindh for the overall bad governance and the alleged rampant corruption which have become a synonym for the PPP. Be it fighting crime, providing education, better healthcare or even distributing relief goods to the flood-hit or drought-stricken people, the PPP has been found wanting on all fronts.
The first step to rectify the governance problem in Sindh could be holding the local bodies elections which devolve power to the district and union level. Bilawal should apologise on behalf of his party for not holding local government elections and ensure that they take place sooner than later.
Among many other slips committed by his party, Bilawal should pick up the thread by tendering an apology to the people of Tharparkar – the most backward district of Sindh – where more than 100 children died due to acute malnutrition and disease during the recent drought as the provincial government even failed to distribute allocated relief on time.
According a SPDI report, the number of people living below the poverty line stands at 47 percent in Tharparkar, the highest in Sindh. Many of the other districts of Sindh paint a similar grim picture with incidence of poverty at 42 percent in Badin, 41 percent in Tando Mohammed Khan, 40 percent in Thatta, and 39 percent in Nawabshah and 38 percent in Larkana. Most of these districts remain a solid vote bank of the PPP, but they all lag behind in all the key social indicators – from health to education.
These major districts of Sindh are also far behind when it comes to infrastructure and basic provision of civic amenities – from clean drinking water to the sewerage systems.
Bilawal must ask the gurus of the Sindh government why even places like Larkana – the hometown of the Bhuttos – and Nawabshah, his father’s hometown, continue to remain backward dustbowls with potholed, bumpy roads compared to many of the cities and towns of similar size in Punjab and even Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Why, after more than six years of continuous rule in Sindh, has the PPP failed to lift any of these districts to the status of model towns with the seal of his party’s development work?
Bilawal should also apologise to the people of Sindh for more than 6,000 non-functional and ghost schools – one of the biggest source of corruption and money-making for the PPP’s education czars and their lackeys. They have ensured that every seventh school in the province remains non-functional. The PPP will face no opposition from any quarter – barring vested interests within its own ranks – if it wants to make these schools functional again.
The people of Lyari also deserve an apology from Bilawal. This is one locality in Karachi that has remained the stronghold of his party from day one. Bilawal should apologise to Lyariites for the folly of his party seniors, including Zulfikar Mirza, for unleashing gangs of criminals in this neighbourhood, if not for failing to bring development, education and employment here.
Thanks to the ill-conceived ‘policy’ – if it can be called one – of patronising gangsters and awarding party tickets for the 2013 elections on their dictates, the PPP has seen its political base eroding even in this support base. Can we imagine the PPP under Benazir or Zulfikar Ali Bhutto taking such a wrong turn? Can Bilawal rectify this?
Although Karachi is not the city where the PPP looks for mass support, yet it can initiate a few symbolic steps to create a feel good factor and invest for the future. Here, Bilawal can ask the talented Sharjeel Memon to at least confront the water and billboard mafias that are thriving right under his nose.
The list of the PPP’s mistakes can go on and on – from shady appointments and transfers in the police to its tango with mega-property developers. Young Bilawal cannot confront them all on day one. But he has to make a beginning. To make his mark, Bilawal has to get rid of the wall not just around Bilawal House but also the walls of corruption and greed around himself and his party.
October 6, 2014
The News
To make his mark, Bilawal has to get rid of the wall not just around Bilawal House but also the walls of corruption and greed around himself and his party.
On September 28 the PPP’s young chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in an open letter to his estranged party supporters, apologised for all past mistakes and promised corrective measures to regain their confidence.
Although Bilawal avoided listing those mistakes which forced him to issue this personal apology, it is indeed a bold and courageous statement by the scion of the Bhutto-Zardari family, who celebrated his 26th birthday only last month. This is perhaps too tender an age to jump into the hurly-burly of politics and take responsibility for all those mega-mistakes that are certainly not of his doing. But then Bilawal appears as the last bet for the PPP to revive its waning political fortunes – thanks to its last stint in power at the centre and continuing poor governance, mismanagement, misrule and allegations of corruption in Sindh where it has been holding power since 2008.
Unlike his mother, Benazir Bhutto, who also joined Pakistan’s political fray and was in and out of prisons when she was also in her mid-to-late 20s, Bilawal has a far steeper challenge ahead of him. At least Benazir Bhutto did not carry any political baggage that tied her party to corruption, greed and financial scandals when she took its charge, though she confronted a far ruthless rival in the form of General Ziaul Haq and his civilian allies.
Today, the PPP’s biggest nemesis is not some General Ziaul Haq, but its own actions and poor performance record, which have eroded its popularity. The last general elections reduced the PPP mainly to rural Sindh. The party was not even a close number two in the other three provinces in the electoral race, losing its place to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and other parties.
The public perception about the PPP under the stewardship of Asif Ali Zardari overwhelmingly remains negative. During the previous five-year rule, he only managed to consolidate his reputation as a wily politician, but was unable to shrug-off the stigma or his love of dubious deals, financial scandals and nepotism which even now are reflected in the way the Sindh provincial government is being run.
Bilawal would have done himself and his party a favour if he had, in his apology, identified and listed at least some of those mistakes that disillusioned many of they party’s voters and supporters. The first step towards self-correction starts from honest self-criticism. His promise of ‘rectifying’ those mistakes may appear hallow because he evaded articulating them.
He can come up with another detailed self-critical note on his party’s failings and indicate a way forward and a departure from his father’s style of politics. His much-propagated October 18 rally in Karachi can be the day when according to his party stalwarts Bilawal takes charge.
But realistically speaking, such chances are dim. One can only hope against hope that young Bilawal will be able to come out of the shadow of his father and many political ‘uncles’ and ‘aunties’ with the sway of some magic wand. The PPP of today is too big an enterprise now that it has tied itself with all sorts of vested political and financial interests.
Nevertheless, Bilawal could still take some baby steps in the right direction by offering a sincere apology first to the people of Sindh, who have stood by his party through thick and thin and in return got the gift of Syed Qaim Ali Shah and his continuous rule.
If the PPP’s young chairman has his fingers on the pulse of Sindh politics, he should have known by now that it is one of the most inefficient and ineffective provincial governments – recognised more for its apathy towards the issues of the common man and poor governance than anything else.
The list of the PPP’s mistakes of omission and commission is certainly a long one, but here are some innocent pointers that can make at least a good beginning.
First of all, Bilawal should apologise to the people of Sindh for the overall bad governance and the alleged rampant corruption which have become a synonym for the PPP. Be it fighting crime, providing education, better healthcare or even distributing relief goods to the flood-hit or drought-stricken people, the PPP has been found wanting on all fronts.
The first step to rectify the governance problem in Sindh could be holding the local bodies elections which devolve power to the district and union level. Bilawal should apologise on behalf of his party for not holding local government elections and ensure that they take place sooner than later.
Among many other slips committed by his party, Bilawal should pick up the thread by tendering an apology to the people of Tharparkar – the most backward district of Sindh – where more than 100 children died due to acute malnutrition and disease during the recent drought as the provincial government even failed to distribute allocated relief on time.
According a SPDI report, the number of people living below the poverty line stands at 47 percent in Tharparkar, the highest in Sindh. Many of the other districts of Sindh paint a similar grim picture with incidence of poverty at 42 percent in Badin, 41 percent in Tando Mohammed Khan, 40 percent in Thatta, and 39 percent in Nawabshah and 38 percent in Larkana. Most of these districts remain a solid vote bank of the PPP, but they all lag behind in all the key social indicators – from health to education.
These major districts of Sindh are also far behind when it comes to infrastructure and basic provision of civic amenities – from clean drinking water to the sewerage systems.
Bilawal must ask the gurus of the Sindh government why even places like Larkana – the hometown of the Bhuttos – and Nawabshah, his father’s hometown, continue to remain backward dustbowls with potholed, bumpy roads compared to many of the cities and towns of similar size in Punjab and even Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Why, after more than six years of continuous rule in Sindh, has the PPP failed to lift any of these districts to the status of model towns with the seal of his party’s development work?
Bilawal should also apologise to the people of Sindh for more than 6,000 non-functional and ghost schools – one of the biggest source of corruption and money-making for the PPP’s education czars and their lackeys. They have ensured that every seventh school in the province remains non-functional. The PPP will face no opposition from any quarter – barring vested interests within its own ranks – if it wants to make these schools functional again.
The people of Lyari also deserve an apology from Bilawal. This is one locality in Karachi that has remained the stronghold of his party from day one. Bilawal should apologise to Lyariites for the folly of his party seniors, including Zulfikar Mirza, for unleashing gangs of criminals in this neighbourhood, if not for failing to bring development, education and employment here.
Thanks to the ill-conceived ‘policy’ – if it can be called one – of patronising gangsters and awarding party tickets for the 2013 elections on their dictates, the PPP has seen its political base eroding even in this support base. Can we imagine the PPP under Benazir or Zulfikar Ali Bhutto taking such a wrong turn? Can Bilawal rectify this?
Although Karachi is not the city where the PPP looks for mass support, yet it can initiate a few symbolic steps to create a feel good factor and invest for the future. Here, Bilawal can ask the talented Sharjeel Memon to at least confront the water and billboard mafias that are thriving right under his nose.
The list of the PPP’s mistakes can go on and on – from shady appointments and transfers in the police to its tango with mega-property developers. Young Bilawal cannot confront them all on day one. But he has to make a beginning. To make his mark, Bilawal has to get rid of the wall not just around Bilawal House but also the walls of corruption and greed around himself and his party.
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