Tightening the belt

It is edifying to note that the recent Indian raise in fuel price, thoughtfully keeping out of diesel and kerosene, to note, was minimal in contrast to the steep climb we have effected in one go. But, of course, India had raised it at a high notch beforehand.

It is well and good, the government is seriously thinking of introducing some cost-cutting measures aiming to tide over the difficulties posed by the prospect of an increased oil import bill. The finance minister is proposing to halve entertainment and fuel allowances of government functionaries including ministers before the Prime Minister for her approval. In addition, a cutback on foreign trips by ministers and high government officials seems to be in the offing.

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Whatever amount of money the government can save under any wasteful head is to be welcomed, because it adds, it does not subtract.

Nevertheless, there are so many other obvious heads of expenditure where the government can be spendthrift with still bigger amounts saved from going down the drain. There are, for example, redundancies in the government and corporations, and many employees without any job description, let alone overlapping functions and operations between departments and directorates. Excessive government is baneful not merely in terms of efficiency but also expenditure.

On the bill collection front, telephone and utility usages by MPs and government offices are not paid for regularly resulting in huge revenue shortfalls. DESA owes big sums to state sector electricity users, so that it has, in turn, outstanding dues with the Power Development Board. It is a vicious cycle of default and draining out of money. On top, an overwhelming majority of state run corporations are losing concerns feeding on government borrowings from the banking sector.

The issue is basically one of waste control, efficiency, better management and responsible conduct of affairs at all government levels. It is thus that we need to take a deeper look into the way we run our affairs. The high international oil price may be a boon in disguise provided we can use it as an opportunity to adopt a comprehensive approach to the culture of waste.