Shocking figures forecast that world trade has expanded likewise: it is 17 times greater than 50 years ago. But Latin America’s share of world trade has fallen from 11% to 5% and Africa from 8% to 2%. How are the ecological limits of a fragile planet to be preserved to confront global policies designed to promote never-ending growth? How is the widening gap between rich and poor to be narrowed when the corporations that rule the world reward greed, and MORE is the current logo. How can the needs of the 10 billion people, destined to inhabit this world in 2050 be reconciled without far-reaching changes in policies and practice of consumption patterns?
Institutions of global market face a crisis of legitimacy. The Seattle, Washington, and Prague protests have triggered the debate by besieging organizations and corporations like IMF, WTO, GATT, and NAFTA for overdue accountability. Running concurrently with Davos, 12,000 people met last month for the first ever Social Forum at Porto Alegre in southern Brazil. People representing 120 countries were a contrast to the elite of the global trade at Davos.
The message was loud and clear: an alternative economics is crystallizing from global NGO networking; at its core are sustainable development, environmental protection and social justice. This movement is gathering pace around the world. There is a tangible sense of emerging global movement, with striking diversity in age, politics, experience and cultural background.
Acutely missing is the role the Saarc nations who need even greater cooperation to protect their economies and threat to environment from sweeping trends of open markets and globalisation. Unless they get their act together, they will be left behind from the fruits of emerging trends of alternative (participatory) development.
“Despite donor driven structural reforms for economic growth, the region has witnessed unprecedented poverty, unemployment, price hike and institutional collapse. The philosophy of neo-liberal international lending practices, meant to reduce poverty through economic revival has enhanced poverty and Pakistan continues to reel under crippling debt burden, agricultural and industrial stagnation,” said Asim Sajjad Akhtar of Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in a seminar in Islamabad on “Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy”.
He further stressed that economic slow down widened the trade gap, income inequality and fiscal deficit “From trickle down economic formulas to current growth facility initiatives, the imposed economic solutions with strings attached have always backfired.” The common man has suffered at the hands of the government that survives on foreign handouts. “The government’s reluctance to expand the tax net is due to international donors who approved levying 40% indirect tax in the form of GST which directly hits the poor while the upper classes get off the hook”.
Criticizing the donor driven policies he reminded, “Rhetoric about privatization, deregulation and liberalization has knocked down the country’s social, political and administrative frameworks”. Calling for the removal of quotas and targets by the rich North for promotion of export led agricultural economy of the poor South, as it needed subsidies and support system for protection against the onslaught from corporate farming. Instead of learning from the past failed practices of borrowing sprees he warned, “Conditionalties proved harmful before and there is no justification for forceful eviction of landless tenants from their rightful lands and ignoring the rights of the poor and women”.
Mushtaq Gadi from Action Aid deplored the absence of indigenous aspirations for solution of global economic development. “Decision should be left to the people of what kind of development was needed. Stabilization programs and budgetary-based and policy-based plans will not yield the desired results unless people are empowered, transparency is ensured and continuity is sustained”. Insisting on recognizing the need for diversity of opinion, he said, “ Legitimate concerns expressed by all stakeholders must be taken into account while charting new policies under global duress. There is a need for proper discourse on issues like sanitation, education, health, and powerlessness before any policy is made and civil society needs to play its role.”
In the absence of democratic institutions and open debate on important issues, Pakistan lacks a participatory development process. Adversarial relationship with India and substantial chunk of the budget being devoured by the defense budget leaves precious little for development purposes. Taking dictation from the lending agencies for shortsighted policies and loans has indebted Pakistan further and there seems no light at end the end of the tunnel.
Adil Zareef
The Vanishing Wildlife By Air Marshal Ayaz Ahmed Khan (R) (Sep 1999)
O' Peshawar! By Dr Adil Zareef (Feb 26, 2000)
Globalization and Environment By Adil Zareef
Give Earth a Chance! By Adil Zareef (Jun, 2002)
List of some Historical Monuments of Peshawar By Prof Mohd Said (Mar 2002)
Plants - A Renewable Natural Resource by Dr Abdur Rashid (May 2002)