08-06-2006, 12:23 AM
How much practically difference in good governance has come if past and present system is compared?
Sometime around 1990 I took up the issue that banks were using unnecessary private courier services leaving the then equally good and most cheap Pakistan Post Officeâs Urgent Mail Service. The private courier services were using their âpublic relationâ techniques with banking industry and getting a tremendous business at the cost of ordinary account holders like me. My point was that under a Government directive state products/services had an edge over private one, hence the Banks should prefer Urgent Mail Service being very cheap and equally efficient. I knew then that many of the mushroom private courier services grown up had no infrastructure of their own and after getting business from commercial companies, public and banks used the urgent mail service thus earning good premium. Those were the good times when issues of general public interest raised by conscientious citizens were properly heard and not refused like today that you are not an aggrieved or your allegation is generalized or proposals/suggestions are not entertained. A meeting of all commercial banks including a representative from Pakistan Post Office was scheduled in the office of the now demised Pakistan Banking Council at Habib Plaza Karachi. It is well known in our government offices that if a senior is to visit Karachi or Islamabad he arranges an official work for that city and thus cost is born by the national exchequer. The matter belonged to urgent mail service but to attend the meeting came an Assistant (or perhaps a Deputy) Director Foreign Post Islamabad. Urgent Mail Service was and still is operating within Pakistan. What the Foreign Post Section was to do with Urgent Mail Service; nothing except that the foreign post service officer had some personal job to do in Karachi. As an un-concerned person come to attend the meeting and there was no interest for the betterment of the department connected with his visit, in the meeting instead of availing the opportunity created by a conscientious citizen rather than the department itself, he simply submitted that the Banks were giving sufficient business to his department. How he knew how much business the banks were giving to couriers and how much to his Department, it is every bodyâs guess. The most interesting is on the other hand the Banks in the meeting were saying that the postal urgent mail service was not to their expectation hence no business to it. Though not a point here however the final Decision issued was that banks should utilize the urgent mail service. Leave the action issue aside.
Has during these 15 years good governance improved? A decade back in order to kill the domestic savings our banks were given blanket freedom to impose any levy on account holder in the name of minimum balance, courier charges even though clearance was within the city limits through clearing house etc. This was a golden opportunity for the Post Office Department to fetch tremendous new saving accounts. The post office savings account is more than a century tested mode. In it saving is more guaranteed. The only lacking is old ledger and withdrawal slip systems etc. Rather than any one from the Department took initiative interest for the betterment of the Department, this citizen approached the Department suggesting that it grabs the opportunity by making a little change in the accounts procedure and issued cheque books and transaction cleared through clearing house which will increase the Departmentâs income tremendously. I was informed in February 2005 that the printing of cheque books was under process. Now on my re-enquiry I have end May 2006 been informed the printing is under âprocessâ. This is not the age of lithographic piece by piece printing. Through offset and lazer system millions of sheets are printed in hours.
It is about 3 years on Karachi Postal Division e-banking I submitted my account opening application. In three years I have not got even a single further information from the Karachi Postal Authorities. After my at least 15 reminders I was informed last year in 2005 by Post Office Headquarters that matter has been taken with PMG Karachi for urgent report. Since I have not further reminded so no one has cared to inform me the progress.
This is a good example of good governance.
Sometime around 1990 I took up the issue that banks were using unnecessary private courier services leaving the then equally good and most cheap Pakistan Post Officeâs Urgent Mail Service. The private courier services were using their âpublic relationâ techniques with banking industry and getting a tremendous business at the cost of ordinary account holders like me. My point was that under a Government directive state products/services had an edge over private one, hence the Banks should prefer Urgent Mail Service being very cheap and equally efficient. I knew then that many of the mushroom private courier services grown up had no infrastructure of their own and after getting business from commercial companies, public and banks used the urgent mail service thus earning good premium. Those were the good times when issues of general public interest raised by conscientious citizens were properly heard and not refused like today that you are not an aggrieved or your allegation is generalized or proposals/suggestions are not entertained. A meeting of all commercial banks including a representative from Pakistan Post Office was scheduled in the office of the now demised Pakistan Banking Council at Habib Plaza Karachi. It is well known in our government offices that if a senior is to visit Karachi or Islamabad he arranges an official work for that city and thus cost is born by the national exchequer. The matter belonged to urgent mail service but to attend the meeting came an Assistant (or perhaps a Deputy) Director Foreign Post Islamabad. Urgent Mail Service was and still is operating within Pakistan. What the Foreign Post Section was to do with Urgent Mail Service; nothing except that the foreign post service officer had some personal job to do in Karachi. As an un-concerned person come to attend the meeting and there was no interest for the betterment of the department connected with his visit, in the meeting instead of availing the opportunity created by a conscientious citizen rather than the department itself, he simply submitted that the Banks were giving sufficient business to his department. How he knew how much business the banks were giving to couriers and how much to his Department, it is every bodyâs guess. The most interesting is on the other hand the Banks in the meeting were saying that the postal urgent mail service was not to their expectation hence no business to it. Though not a point here however the final Decision issued was that banks should utilize the urgent mail service. Leave the action issue aside.
Has during these 15 years good governance improved? A decade back in order to kill the domestic savings our banks were given blanket freedom to impose any levy on account holder in the name of minimum balance, courier charges even though clearance was within the city limits through clearing house etc. This was a golden opportunity for the Post Office Department to fetch tremendous new saving accounts. The post office savings account is more than a century tested mode. In it saving is more guaranteed. The only lacking is old ledger and withdrawal slip systems etc. Rather than any one from the Department took initiative interest for the betterment of the Department, this citizen approached the Department suggesting that it grabs the opportunity by making a little change in the accounts procedure and issued cheque books and transaction cleared through clearing house which will increase the Departmentâs income tremendously. I was informed in February 2005 that the printing of cheque books was under process. Now on my re-enquiry I have end May 2006 been informed the printing is under âprocessâ. This is not the age of lithographic piece by piece printing. Through offset and lazer system millions of sheets are printed in hours.
It is about 3 years on Karachi Postal Division e-banking I submitted my account opening application. In three years I have not got even a single further information from the Karachi Postal Authorities. After my at least 15 reminders I was informed last year in 2005 by Post Office Headquarters that matter has been taken with PMG Karachi for urgent report. Since I have not further reminded so no one has cared to inform me the progress.
This is a good example of good governance.
