The Pakistani nation has hefty needs. Ignoring these needs imperils the society, region and the world. Identifying the needs of the nation: Here is one assessment, which says, its not that hard to do: About $15 Billion shatters the cycle of poverty in Pakistan and puts it on the road to higher standards.

Using the calculations done by Dr. Furrukh Saleem and putting forward a more agressive and comprehensive schedule, the Pakistani nation has these needs.

  • To put each and every Pakistani child in school we need 58,000 new schools and 163,000 new teachers. (Cost $700 million to build, $200 million to hire 163,000 new teachers)
  • To radically improve health care Pakistan needs 5000 hospitals (Cost $2.5 million per hospital for a total of $12.5 Billion). At a cost of $3 Billion per annum, we can build 1000 new hospitals per year.
  • 100 New High Courts, and 1000 new Small Claim Courts would cost $500 million
  • Indus Highway revamp and extension into Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China. (Cost $2 Billion)
  • Railway revamp and extension into Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China. (Cost $2 Billion)
  • Pakistanis also need 5 million homes per annum. Town Planners can set up plans for a dozen brand new cities with low income one bedroom, but well planned communities with all the facilities of a modern US subdivision.

The Turks and the Koreans built skyscrapers in “Shanti Towns” (katchi abadis) and “sold” the apartments to the residents who participated in the construction of the apartments. This provided employment, skills and training to the residents of the area–and a sense of ownership. Within a few years Seoul became a modern city.

Refreigerated Cargo facilities from the Rural Villages to the Urban towns would eliminate the wastage of food items during trucking. The Supply Chain could then be expanded to the Gulf which imports $200 Billion of food items.

Dr. Furrukh Saleem has done the basic analysis, which is a good starting point. This has to be taken to the next level and fleshed out in terms of geography and schedule.

How to fund it? Forget the Pakistani government, and forget US Aid

Who is up to the challenge? A team of dedicated professionals can create “Overseas Pakistani Organization” under Abdus Sattar Edhi, sell (5 million shares at $2,500 per share–forget the math–look at the vision) and Subcontract to President Jimmy Carter’s “Habitat for Humanity”. Pakistani-Americans could be asked for “Qarz e Hasna” for $2,500. At $200 per month, this could be funded very easily. The only impediment is transparency, honesty and integrity.

Pakistan become a modern nation in 5-10 years.

The Overseas Paksitani Foundation can fund this with very little effort. The Overseas Pakistanis can set Subcontract this huge effort to Jimmy Carter’s Non-Profit “Habitat for Humanity” and build these within a few years.

Has the government of Pakistan made a plan as to how it will spend $1.5 billion that will be coming our way courtesy the Treasury Building, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC? Has any of the provincial government undertaken a need-assessment or a need-priority exercise? If we are still planning to plant pebbles then we should not expect to harvest potatoes.

The European Recovery Programme (ERP), known as the Marshall Plan, had a total of $13 billion to be shared by Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The plan began in 1948 and lasted for four years. For the record: one, agriculture production in recipient countries surpassed pre-war levels. Two, the period from 1948 to 1952 “saw the fastest period of growth in European history”. Three, industrial production grew by a wholesome 35 per cent. Four, poverty took a nosedive.

What can $1.5 billion do for us? Let’s say $1 billion for education, $250 million for health and $250 million for judicial reforms. I recently saw a list of 149 countries and the number of children out of primary schools in those countries. Guess, who was at the very top of the list? Answer: Pakistan. A total of 6.3 million children out of primary schools in Pakistan followed by 2.6 million in Sudan, 1.6 million in the US, 1.3 million in Niger, 1.2 million in Cote d’Ivoire and 1.2 million in Burkina Faso.

I have done the math. Pakistan has 156,732 primary schools with 440,000 teachers and 17 million students. In order for us to put each and every Pakistani child in school we need 58,000 new schools and 163,000 new teachers. For the first year, $700 million to build, $200 million to hire 163,000 new teachers — and we will still be left with $100 million for consultants and contractors.

Here’s a group of five countries whose education spending as a percentage of their GDP is the lowest: Pakistan 1.8 per cent, the UAE 1.6 per cent, Indonesia 1.2 per cent, Ecuador 1 per cent and Equatorial Guinea 0.6 per cent. Here are the figures on female illiteracy. The worst performer is Senegal at 69.2 per cent followed by Pakistan at 69.4 per cent. Remember, ‘an ounce of mother-wit is worth a pound of school-wit’.

Next; $250 million for health. We have 965 hospitals and 107,835 registered doctors. Pakistan is the third worst performer as far as expenditure on health as a percentage of GDP is concerned (the worst is Equatorial Guinea followed by Angola). We have one of the lowest numbers of physicians per unit of population, one of the highest numbers of malaria cases, one of the highest incidences of TB (181 per 100,000) and one of the lowest numbers of hospital beds per unit of population.

With $250 million a year we can build 100 new, fully-equipped hospitals every year for a total of 500 new hospitals in the following five years. Imagine; our federal government spends an equivalent of $170 million a year on health — that budget can be doubled and we will still be left with $80 million for consultants, contractors and intermediaries.

Next; $250 million for justice. Our judges are underpaid, courts are understaffed and the legal system is technologically a hundred years in the past. Our courts need a management information system, a human resources system, family courts reforms and an efficient alternative dispute resolution infrastructure. Let the ‘force of arms give place to law and justice’.

Are we failing to plan or planning to fail?

Capital suggestion, $1.5 billion per year, Sunday, December 13, 2009 Dr Farrukh Saleem

The writer is the executive director of the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS). Email: farrukh 15@hotmail.com