Using data to judge performance for service delivery is the much needed real accountability Accountability is a damaged word in Pakistan. Recent rains in Karachi brought out various aspects of public service delivery in this large city and people clamoured for accountability of various organisations involved with service delivery. The voices raised against the government and other service organisations have…
How Pakistani producers must redefine opportunity and create new markets For the last 5 months, I have undertaken the arduous task of renovating my home. Much to the discomfort of family members, I have rather foolishly persisted with the endeavour. Although it is difficult to foresee success in this adventure, at least not to the satisfaction of my wife and…
Despite reticence on the part of the government, the long-term benefits of privatisation cannot be taken for granted On a recent trip to London, I could not help but follow the media coverage of the upcoming general election in the UK. The Labour Party, which has since been soundly defeated, was campaigning on an agenda to increase public spending on…
Is there a silver lining to the Covid-19 pandemic? With the global novel coronavirus pandemic affecting the entire world, most regions and countries are looking at the unfolding situation in terms of horrifying scenarios from the public health and economic perspectives. The alternate future scenarios oscillate between bad and worse, depending upon what you read or who you listen to.…
Business owners longing for things to return quickly to what they were in pre-Covid-19 days may be on the wrong side of history One of the key tasks in developing a business strategy is to identify and separate what is relatively predictable from the fundamentally uncertain. Future scenarios are built by varying the uncertain while keeping the predictable constant. Of…
Some lessons in leadership By now, almost everyone understands the lives vs livelihood dilemma policymakers face throughout the world. The fact that social distancing, or physical distancing to use the recommended term, is a public health requirement to prevent the disease from spreading is at odds with the economic costs we have to pay for this measure. This is an…
Asif Saad analyses the pandemic’s impact on employment in Pakistan and the complexities that policymakers should consider as they deal with a major economic downturn As the days go by, life in the times of coronavirus can seem unending. Even as the pandemic has raised fundamental issues about our priorities, it is important to consider the impact on livelihoods without looking…
How South Asians perpetrate discrimination against dark skin The coronavirus pandemic continues but the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by a police officer brought the world’s attention to something perhaps even more damaging and catastrophic in the long term than covid-19– the racial inequality pandemic. The policeman has been dismissed from service and charged with manslaughter. But the way…
In the aviation industry, safety is a given, right? Wrong, especially in Pakistan. When you travel on an airplane, you judge the airline on the basis of many factors, but safety is not one of them. This is due to the simple reason that you will never board a plane unless you are one hundred percent sure that you will…
As the world changes, it pivots and zooms into our homes, which now play a much bigger role in our lives. It would be unwise to predict what will happen to our world as a result of this pandemic. As scientists scramble to find a vaccine in the shortest possible time, many are trying to control the spread of the…
