PRIVATIZATION. The demise of the Cold War syndrome, the “glasnost” in the economic policies of developing countries, and the trend towards restructuring of the government’s role in economic activities brought into fore the concept of Privatization. The reality dawned on those countries that had a centralized base of authority that indulging in activities that should be the domain of the private sector, where entrepreneurship is more prominent, was now proving counter-productive. The state-owned enterprises (SOE) had outlived their purposes, and their performance had resulted in a strain on governmental resources, in dwindling productivity, in bloated and worthless human resources, in destruction of the system of merit, and in fostering nepotism, corruption, and profligacy.
PRIVATIZATION: The buzzword of the 1990’s has become a sacred item on the Pakistany government’s economic agenda. Benazir Bhutto initiated the trend but was not able to put it into action. The Nawaz Sharif administration went on this route in a hurried fashion and discarded a lot of SOEs. This syndrome continued in the next two governments headed by both Bhutto and Sharif.
The past few months have seen the privatization process picking up steam with the government determined to divest enterprises that have nothing to do with running the government. Over Rs. 100 billion are squandered away by SOEs every year. However, privatization is being done cautiously and pragmatically. In fact, taking cue from the Privatization Commission in Islamabad, the Sindh Privatization Commission (SPC) is also bent upon energizing the divestiture process and reversing the trend under which the state indulged in activities not commensurate with what it should normally do.
Keeping this factor in mind, the SPC invited tenders for the incomplete Karachi Trauma Center (KTC). The Sindh government under the dynamic leadership of Governor Muhammadmian Soomro rightly decided that it would be a tall order to complete the project, to put it into operation, and to fund it on a continuous basis. No wonder, after twelve long years, the edifice presents a forlorn look and is a manifestation of good planning gone to waste. Meantime, countless bomb blasts, major accidents, and other tragic happenings made people wonder whether this City of Lights would ever have a trauma center to cater to these calamities.
Finally, on March 30, 2002, the SPC called in bids for the KTC. Hamdard Foundation put in a bid for Rupees 70 million while Baqai Foundation offered to purchase it for Rs. 30 million. The Memon Health and Education Foundation (MHEF) came up with a Rs. 51 million bid. Chairman of SPC, Nasir Ali Shah Bukhari, while rejecting the bids informed the bidders that independent surveyors had assessed its real value at Rs. 92 million and thus it would be necessary to have an open auction to spiral up the bid prices. In this process, MHEF jacked up its offer to Rs. 100 million that turned up to be the highest offer for KTC. The SPC Chairman declared that the bid surpassed the assessed price and thus he congratulated MHEF office-bearers for their generous bid. It is hoped that the Sindh Cabinet would soon give its acceptance to the bid.
The word privatization is anathema to many in the government who see their perks and privileges disappear when the enterprise is privatized. The workers too at times do not appreciate if there are private sector owners because their freedom to have their own set of rules becomes restricted. The losers in the bidding process, at times, become disturbed when they see a good thing going out of their control. Alas, this is happening to KTC also. There has been a concerted press campaign being conducted to discredit the buyers, i.e. the Memons, and to thwart the privatization of this center. "An emergency sell-off" written by Arif Jamshaid and published in The News on Sunday on May 12, 2002, is a case in point.
Mr. Jamshaid has tried to present just one side of the divestiture without taking the point of view of the buyers or the SPC or even those who would be utilizing the facilities of this center. The article is divided into two parts; one talks about the KTC and the other part is a detailed outlook of what senior citizens need to survive in this country. The portion on KTC is full of inaccuracies while the write-up on senior citizens has nothing whatsoever to do with the KTC and its facilities. It is then simply deduced that the writer has been prodded into writing an article presenting biased one-sided rumblings. He should have heeded the advice of St. Augustine who stated, "Hear the other side".
Mr. Jamshaid should have informed his readers about the people behind the MHEF. Is it a group of land grabbers? Is it a group of smugglers, or bank defaulters, or political pygmies? No sir. This Foundation has some of the leading Memon personalities who are either managing huge conglomerates, providing employment to thousands, and contributing billions to the Treasury, or are well known professionals who have a formidable client base, or those social workers who are managing welfare hospitals that are examples of excellence in healthcare. The Executive Board consists of Memon luminaries as Mr. Peer Muhammad Diwan, the Chairman of the Gatron Group of Industries, whose annual sales is in billions and who spends more time in public and social welfare activities rather than running his own business empire. There is Haji Sharif Bilwani of the Gani & Tayyab Group who is an icon in the cloth and yarn market and is the President of the Bantva Jamaat. (Edhi, Razak Dawood, the Dada family, the Adam family, the Balagamwala family, etc are from this Bantva Jamaat). Then the Directors of the Al-Karam Textile Group, the famous Chartered Accountant, Yusuf Adil, industrialists Alimuhammad Tabba, Ejaz Saya, Zubair Amin Motiwala and Hanif Godil from England, and of course, Mr. Pirmuhammad Kalia, who oversees the Patel Hospital and is a leading social worker of the community.
What is the MHEF? It is a Foundation set up by Memon philanthropists with the view to providing quality medical and health facilities to people at pocket-book friendly rates and even to provide it gratis out of the proposed endowment fund to be set up exclusively for KTC. The Foundation would not be asking for funds from the government as this would not be a private-public partnership where the government provides the funds and the sponsors enjoy the icing. The MHEF would not make the KTC a commercial venture but it would be a non-profit, welfare-oriented, and accessible-to-all endeavor. It is envisaged that Nurses Training and Medical Educational facilities would also be set up to prepare a Human Resource base for further enhancement of medical facilities.
The Memons are already successfully running many quality-oriented health facilities where the poor and needy are catered and where free treatment is routinely provided to all those who need it. Bantva Anis Hospital, Patel Hospital, Jamal Noor Hospital, Memon Hospital, etc come to mind and are testimony to the altruism of the Memon community. The space is limited, otherwise there is a long list of what the Memons are doing for the welfare of the people in this country. Who has ambulances, Edhi, or the government? The MHEF has people who are experienced in running welfare hospitals and they are at a vantage position to efficiently manage this enterprise too. If only Mr. Jamshaid had bothered to find out the facts about the community he is accusing of usurping the KTC.
Fasilay-e-shehr Mein Paidaa Key-ay Hain Sub Darr Mein Nay
Kisi Bhi Bab-e-Riyat Se Mein Nahin Ayah
Mr. Jamshaid has already concluded that the Memons would sub-divide the plot and sell off 9.48 acres out of the 11.48 acres of the complex. Fantastic. This is the hackneyed argument always put up by opponents of the privatization process that the buyers would sell off property. For the convenience of the writer, it is pertinent to point out that MHEF has agreed to buy an incomplete KTC for Rs 100 million. The Memons have pledged to pump in another Rs 450-500 million to build it, to provide the equipment, and to set it in motion. Is the Sindh government ready to do that? Does this pledge not offset the accusation that the Memons would, as soon as they got possession, sell the measly 9.48 acres? Is Mr. Jamshaid really on the level? The MHEF has proposed to add to the already available land because they plan to expand the KTC, not to shrink it and make a fast killing.
Mr. Jamshaid states that the Nazim-e-Ala, Mr. Niamatullah Khan has opposed privatization of KTC. Here again, the writer is way off mark. A month ago, while speaking at a Bantva Jamaat Dinner in honor of Mr. Pirmuhammad Kalia, the Nazim-e-Ala categorically stated that though he is against privatization, he is all for any such privatization that is in the interest of the people, and while warmly lauding the efforts of MHEF in this regard, complimented the Foundation for taking such a bold step. Mr. Jamshaid can go to the office of the City Father and verify it himself. Mr. Jamshaid needs to be current in his outlook or he would make himself a laughingstock at the Karachi Press Club.
With apologies to Dr Shershah Syed, the esteemed Secretary General of PMA, wouldn't it have been more appropriate if he had asked himself the simple question: Since the project was in doldrums for the last 12 years, since the Sindh government was not serious about putting in more money to complete the project, and since the PMA itself did not take the initiative to provide funds and expertise to this project, why shouldn't private sector philanthropists do it for the good of the populace? Opposing the project for the sake of opposition is not justified. Has the good doctor himself talked to MHEF? Does he know the background of the MHEF? How can he then unilaterally assume that it is an "absurd decision" to privatize KTC because the private party would be minting money. How callous and apathetic can one get without ascertaining the facts and just making venomous statements. The sad fact is that he, himself, says that "the city's hospitals cannot handle major disasters and there is an immediate need to strengthen the emergency centers and burns ward at those institutions." Suppose the bomb that killed the French would have exploded at around noon time rather than the early morning hours? What have been the figures of dead and injured? It sends shivers up the spine just to even think about it. Are Civil or Jinnah Hospitals equipped to handle a calamity of this magnitude? Dr. Shershah and Mr. Jamshaid should contemplate this in the privacy of their offices and they would then understand that the KTC is a must and thanx to the Memons, it would be in operation within a couple of years.
Governor Soomro and the Sindh Cabinet members are sincerely urged to grant approval to the sale of KTC to the MHEF on an imperative basis. Every minute delayed is a loss to the nation. The citizens' lives are paramount, and facilities such as the KTC are crucial in these harrowing times. The heartless rabble-rousers, the ill-informed writers, the unfamiliar doctors, and the avaricious government officials, are rather more self-centered and do not appreciate that the lives of the citizens should be improved. Thus, they all got together to kick dust so that the KTC lies listless as a reminder of governmental nonchalance and neglect, the citizens remain deprived of basic facilities, and the trauma center buyers are traumatized. Then vested interests would take over and the story would be repeated all over again at the privatization of another enterprise.
Dushman Bhi Toh Such Poochoh Toh Mohsin Hain Hamaray
In Sub Ki Badolat He Toh Izzat Hai Hamari
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May 13, 2002
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