GOVERNMENT NEED US AND WE NEED GOVERNMENT

 The entire human existence is inseparably linked to the presence of the state, to the activities that it develops manifested in many fields of economic and social life. State’s interventions, as an economic actor, take the form of services provided to the community (in areas that cannot be covered by the private sector), in order to correct the deficiencies of the market economy, or destined for stimulating the economic activity. State’s political decisions determine the system of rules based on which the society operates, namely, political, economic, legal institutions, essential for the life and actions of individuals. Societies are characterized by two distinct sectors – the public and the private. The public sector is monopolistic, providing essential services, while the private sector is competitive, with alternative sources for the goods and services it produces.

 

“The Public Sector is usually comprised of organizations that are owned and operated by the government and exist to provide services for its citizens” The Public Sector book by Jan-Erik Lane.

In the representation of economic actor, the public sector (state) is defined as "the set of all activities developed by the State", which includes the following bodies

• Public institutions the resources of which come from the public budget.

• Central and local governments producing public goods and services aimed at the society. 

• social protection bodies answerable to the public power and its decisions

• Public enterprises obtaining income (resources) from the sale of own production, namely: autonomous administrations, national companies (without the competition of private companies), joint ventures with state-owned and private capital (belong to the public sector but the operation manner is similar to the private sector). They compete with the private sector banks and insurance companies with public capital.

Public sector services:

Public sector services and organizations include:

• Education (Schools, Libraries)

• Electricity

• Emergency Services

• Fire Service

• Gas and Oil

• Healthcare

• Infrastructure

• Law Enforcement

• Police Services

• Postal Service

• Public Transit

• Social Services

• Waste Management

Apart from the services mentioned above, the public sector also consists of public infrastructures, such as public roads, tunnels, sewage systems, and electrical grids.

Levels of Government:

Public sector organizations usually exist at three levels:

1. Federal or National

2. Regional (State or Provincial)

3. Local (Municipal or County)

Providing public services is often the responsibility of several levels of government, each of which provides some or all of the services. Because of this, public services are often delivered through a variety of different intergovernmental organizations simultaneously. Funding for public services is usually raised through a variety of methods, including taxes, fees, and through financial transfers from other levels of government (e.g. from a federal to a provincial or state government)

GOVERNMENT JOB VS PRIVATE JOB:

According to the Pakistan institute of development economics, approximately 56% of people are employed in the public sector, 18% in the private sector, and 26% are working in the informal sector. The Government jobs in Pakistan are always considered to be a lucrative option for job seekers. Due to the increased level of job security, most people want to get hired in government departments and prefer these jobs over private-sector jobs. Usually, the compensations and benefits attached with any Public sector appointments are quite a lot. However, in addition to the basic monthly salary, the government jobs offer a large number of non-monetary benefits and entitlements to their employees. All government jobs offer retirement benefits and pensions as well. The life of a retired government official is much more lucrative and relaxing than a private job individual. Being a government employee in Pakistan makes you eligible for a number of quotas and services. In all types of national and welfare schemes government employees are given preference.

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES:

Education is the basic right of every citizen of Pakistan; Article 25 A of the Constitution obligates the state to provide free and compulsory quality education to children of the age group of five to sixteen years. The government is attempting to fulfill its duty by opening public sector schools which is a ray of hope for the poor and uneducated people of Pakistan. According to the report of Global Village space, the education system of Pakistan is comprised of 260,903 institutions and is currently facilitating 41,018,384 students. The system includes 180,846 public institutions and 80,057 private institutions. Jimenez and Tan (1985, 1987) found that despite the evolution in private schools, educational institutions still did not serve large proportions of Pakistan’s population because Private schools are not accessible to poor parents. Wealthier parents are more likely to send their children to private schools than poor parents. In the rural areas of Pakistan, almost 74 percent of students attend public schools while 26 percent of students attend private schools including Madrassas, etc.

The research was conducted to develop simple indicators of university efficiency. They did focus on 100 universities approved by the HEC of Pakistan. In the sample, half the universities were from the private sector and the remaining from the public sector. They had written a simple query regarding mid-year enrollment policy and sent it to each of these 100 universities through an electronic email message and recorded their response time. Around 80 percent of the universities do not respond over the span of 3 months. Among the 20 percent who respond, they find that majority exists in the public sector rather than in the private sector. It suggests the relative efficiency of the public sector over the private sector. (Article written by Ummad Mazhar: Grading Efficiency: Public versus private universities in Pakistan)

HEALTH SECTOR:

According to 2016 statistics, Pakistan has more than 1200 public hospitals and 700 private hospitals. Besides these hospitals, there are also small Medical Clinics plus Maternity & Child Health Centers in different areas of Pakistan. The fees of public hospitals are marginal and affordable for all. We have massive examples such as PIMS Islamabad, Jinnah hospital Lahore, Punjab institute of cardiology, Children’s hospital Lahore, Federal government services Lahore, Civil hospital Karachi, services hospital Lahore.

SOCIAL SAFETY NET PROGRAMS:

Pakistan has made substantial progress in reducing poverty, and social protection programs have played an important role. The investments made in the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) and other social protection programs have played a critical role in Pakistan’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Other Budgeted social safety net programs include Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM) and Social Security & Welfare while Zakat, Employees Old-age Benefit Institution (EOBI), Workers Welfare Fund (WWF), Ehsaas Program, Kamyab Jawan Program, and many others.

E-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVES:

Pakistan is gradually moving towards the path of implementation of e-governance to increase the coverage and quality of information and services provided to the general public using ICT in a simple, economical, and cost-effective manner. NITB successfully implemented different interactive webs and mobile apps. For example, Pakistan citizen portal PCP, NADRA, E-Tijarat Portal, Digiskills, Pharmapedia Pakistan, Taleem Ghar, Roshan Pakistan, Baytee, LMS.

 

A society that has no government would be considered anarchy. Government mediates disputes between people, provides basic services like roads, education, and national security, and enforces laws to discourage wrongdoing from being committed. Truth be told, government and “we, the people” are not just connected; we’re utterly dependent on each other. The government depends on us for revenue, and we depend on the government for protection and services, from inspecting the safety of the food we eat to save lives when there’s a human-made or natural disaster. In the Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln said that government is of the people, by the people, for the people. What does “by the people” mean? It means that government and its employees, police officers, firefighters, road workers, safety inspectors, terrorism experts only protect us if we, the people, are willing to pay for that protection. How do we pay? Through taxes, of course. Maybe we don’t like them, but taxes pay for the services that protect our health, our safety, the quality of our life, and even our life itself at times.

To repeat the theme from the beginning of this piece: "Government needs us and we need government."

 

Written by: Ayesha Abbasi

Bs-PA&G_06 (M)

NUML Islamabad