The nation is all set to go to general elections on 8th February. It is believed that a coalition government will emerge at the centre with a blend of a few new and many old faces. What is more disappointing to observe is the political rhetoric fed to the masses during the dull electioneering process.

Ordinary people facing the toughest of economic challenges in their daily lives are being sold ill-founded dreams with no connection with the grave realities facing them. A leader went on to say that if voted to power, his government would provide free electricity to the poor to the tune of 300 units.

This may come as a rude joke for the poor who are being deprived of ordinary subsidies in services every passing day. Given the challenging macroeconomic situation, it is obvious that neither subsidies nor any other form of relief may be possible for anyone who comes to power.

Conceptual clarity is needed among our political class, especially around core issues that are pertinent to the development challenges that we face.

Decision makers need to understand the ground realities and the challenges for the masses to make decisions for development spending

Development, like other sectors of the economy and society, is denominated by political and administrative performance. Needless to say that the remarkable adhocism that has been part and parcel of society has prevented any developmental venture from surviving. Nor has it allowed any development-conducive environment to take root in the country.

People of all cadres and classes are forced to live on a day-to-day basis. Rapid and anomalous administrative and political changes do not allow developmental practices to evolve.

Strong and influential muscular interest groups govern the development process at the secondary and tertiary levels. This is a reality which is always misunderstood and is never accounted for by the government.

The lack of enlightened leadership and the absence of legitimate processes to generate leadership further aggravate the situation. The lack of consensus objectives is one of the inherent weaknesses that has led to the spiralling fragmentation of society.

History has taught that many factors in our socio-cultural and administrative environment will remain a perpetual constraint, at least in the near future. A viable developmental philosophy and realistic approach will have to account for them as obstacles before framing a strategy.

Governmental changes at the macro level, turnovers and shifts will continue. The power structure of the country, which originates from the nexus of military, bureaucracy, political parties/forces and social-religious-ethnic groups will remain. Changes will continue to emerge through ‘accidents’ and ‘accidents in the making’.

The development process in secondary and tertiary levels is heavily influenced by strong interest groups whose power is underestimated

Public resources for development will remain scarce — there may be marginal variations without any drastic change atleast in the near future. Reviewing the competitive and often unfavourable global market situations and local trends, it is difficult to assume of any drastic change in the capital formation. A strong and parallel informal economy will continue to thrive under the patronage of interest groups of different origins, affiliations, size and magnitude.

Religious and ethnic divides will be the most exploited factor, especially by political and religious leaders. As this standpoint works best for their course of action, they will continue to use it. The exploitation of religion and ethnicity will act as a barrier to socio-cultural and physical development. It has kept the masses away from internal organisation and prevented them from collective action.

Although the ground realities remain intact, many trends can catalyse the developmental process. A viable developmental philosophy must take them into account.

Spatially, the cities and urban areas will expand and become fused with the rural territory. The conventional rural-urban divide which existed a few decades ago will evaporate.

In Sindh and Punjab, the major roads and highways are the sites of ribbon developments, many of which have become significant corridors of service sector activities. Where transport-related functions of the repair yards of agricultural and livestock machinery occur, the clusters support a considerable segment of the population, which is all urban in nature.

Urbanisation will act as the first tread for the social and economic emancipation of the masses in several ways. One, it denotes the death of the old social order dependent on the agro-lordship of the feudal and the tyrannic practices. People of the lower strata are acquiring freedom from the pre-existing social bondages in many traditionally closed contexts.

Two, the neo-urban dwellers obtain a new sense of society and social linkages, which heals the continuing social dislocation. Three, employment opportunities have become diverse and frequent in comparison to the past.

And four, the women and lower social castes, who have been traditionally the worst off in many respects, can attain better access to justice and chances of equitable survival in urban contexts. In sum, urbanisation has been going on without direct government support as an ongoing organic process. The 1998 census has proved this fact.

Pioneering work in the health, education, welfare services, social and physical infrastructure and economy is continuing and can be scaled up. The pioneering work in each of the above sectors has become a reality based on the energies of some committed non-governmental organisations, community groups, and individuals. Recognition of the pioneering works will lead to the birth of a new concept of ‘people-centred development’ in all domains of life.

A vibrant information and communication revolution has already taken place through the electronic, print and cyber media. The physical distances will soon shrink because of the utilisation of cyber media. Information will enable people to shed the taboos of society.

Three traditional actors vital in developmental affairs are the politicians, decision makers (whether uniformed or otherwise), planners, professionals and the people. A gradual realisation of their changing role must be propelled through conscious efforts.

The desired role of decision-makers is to understand developmental needs, create and help create an enabling environment, and prepare policymakers’ desires into plans and programmes. They are supposed to understand the ground realities of society, take an independent position and prepare appropriate solutions.

Unless we do not open debate around the aspirations of people about development and do not make political decisions subservient to it, sustainability will remain a remote dream.

To find your constituency and location of your polling booth, SMS your NIC number (no spaces) to 8300. Once you know your constituency, visit the ECP website here for candidates.

The writer is an academic and researcher based in Karachi

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, January 29th, 2024