Order and Anarchy

On 27th September, 2006, the Economic Coordination Committee of the federal cabinet gave its go – ahead to a deal worth $43.13 billion, to be entered into by the Port Qasim Authority on behalf of Pakistan and UAE based real estate developer Emaar Properties. The agreement envisages the transformation of two islands just off Karachi into modern model cities complete with all ameneities to support a self contained community. Dr. Ashfaq Hassan Khan, while divulging details about the agreement on Geo News TV channel, informed that the islands, Bundal and Buddo are just 1.5 Km from DHA Phase VIII. Emaar, with 85 per cent equity in the project, will develop the city in 13 years. The PQA will have 15 percent equity, in the shape of land.

On the same news program, giving out the details of the agreement, Dr. Ashfaq informed that the government has instructed the PQA to form a panel of legal and financial experts to come up with an agreement that would be vetted by the Federal Ministry for Law and Justice and that would require adequate guarantees from the UAE firm; apparently, this has to be done to ensure transparency and to ensure that proper and suitable operational procedures are followed. On the question of transparency, Dr. Ashfaq couldn’t answer the question regarding whether the government publicized the offer through advertisements. Although he told that there were four firms in the race for the contract out of which Emaar succeeded, he was unclear and ignorant about whether proper procedures were followed in inviting these companies. So there arises the primary question of transparency in the deal. Then, it was in news today that the Sind Chief Minister, Dr. Arbab Ghulam Rahim has been saying that the Sind government was not taken into confidence prior to the green light that was given by the ECC for the deal to go through.

In May 2006, Emaar signed $18 billion accord with Port Qasim Authorities to build a mixed-use development project comprising homes, hotels and golf courses in Karachi involving investment of $2.4 billion. These developments include a series of master planned communities that will set new benchmarks in commercial, residential and retail property within Pakistan. Emaar has already commenced the first – ever international sales of its overseas master – planned communities with Canyon Views in Islamabad.

Anyways, these were only the details of what this deal and other Emaar activities are all about. Although this would result in attracting foreign investment in the country, should one look at the larger implications of such projects? Given the objectives that such projects seek to achieve – providing quality housing and a high standard of living for the population being the most important – the answer should definitely be in the positive.

Keeping aside the case of Islamabad which, surely looks like somewhat detatched from the rest of the country in terms of facilities, planning and amenities, we look at Karachi; rather, we look at the rest of the country.

Karachi is home to the most chronic of problems any community could face. All around, one finds broken roads, high street crime, severely malfunctioning drainage system, pathetic state of affairs of public transportation, lack of access to clean drinking water in a number of localities, a large portion of the city covered by slums, etc. You name a civic problem and you’ll definitely find it in Karachi. Similar is the situation in more or less every part of the country.

All this, and the government wants to embark upon a project that advertises the most luxury. Infact, the government advisor (Dr. Ashfaq) translated the new city as no less than another Dubai. Oh my God!....A palace on an overflowing gutter!!

Some time back the government, through the Karachi Port Trust decided to gift the people of Karachi a giant water fountain on the coastline near Clifton. Thinking that the people were entertainment starved, the authorities decided to be considerate towards the poor people and acted to create an entertainment spot by installing a huge water fountain that would spew sewerage many many feet into the open air. In its frenzy, the City District Government Karachi has already embarked upon constructing the tallest building of the country at Hassan Square – that same Hassan Square that serves as home to the City Government’s offices and that same Hassan Square, where even the mildest of showers or even a slight drizzle would create a pool for the relevant departments’ officers to swim in.

Another example of a project which, thankfully hasn’t materialized yet but which seems to be in the pipeline, is the bullet train project. Nawaz Sharif was quite passionate about it. So is the current government. Nawaz Sharif wanted a study to be conducted upon its feasibility. The current government has commissioned the feasibility to be prepared. Now someone should tell the assholes who run the affairs of this unfortunately poor country of ours that a bullet train would certainly put a huge drain on the already tight resources, that first these guys should try to improve and sustain the already crippled railway system.

I’m not against such projects. But we should look at our priorities. Do we want to serve a small minority who already live in the wildest of luxuries or are we here to provide relief to the common man who travels from one corner of the city to the other in a public bus, thoroughly humiliated, to earn and to strive to provide a somewhat of a decent living to his family? Such huge and expensive projects suit only those societies which have walked a considerable distance to cover the rich – poor gap and which provide adequate measures for addressing all citizens’ needs.

So why do governments have a penchant to embark upon projects that don’t serve to be of any value to the majority of the country’s masses? It’s simple reasoning. Big projects bring big publicity. The government and its ministers are certain to recieve good credit for “making efforts in transforming the fate of the country” by initiating huge projects. It doesn’t matter if the projects are usefull or not; that’s another story. But if the same ministers would act to channel public money in repairing roads and sewerage lines, in providing access to clean drinking water and all such stuff at the micro level, the efforts would definitely not come to the notice of a wide spectrum of people in the society. This would ensure that their names die out from the collective memory of the masses. So infact, useless mega projects serve the vested interests of the government of the day.

God save the people from such governments.