Recom m endat ions t o ensure rapid connect ivit y w it h regards t o goals t o be achieved, t he follow ing act ions and inst it ut ional arrangem ent s are proposed and discussed:
Goal Current Issues Proposed Actions Institutional
arrangement required
1. Prom ot ing privat e sect or part icipat ion in railw ays
Pakist an Railw ays m inist ry is self-
regulat ing. This leads t o biased policies w hich discourage privat e sect or part icipat ion
Creat e an independent regulat ory body, including in it s m em bers a privat e sect or represent at ive, having no financial st ake in t he m arket
Ordinance t o be draft ed by t he M inist ry of Law and prom ulgat ed by t he President
39
Goal Current Issues Proposed Actions Institutional
arrangement required 2. Creat ing a sophist icat ed m arket for railw ays M onopoly of Pakist an Railw ays
Pakist an Railw ays should be unbundled and t hen privat ised: Rail Tracks and Signalling; St at ion M anagem ent ; Rail services (Passenger and Freight )
To be undert aken by t he M inist ry of Railw ays;
Rest ruct uring unit w it hin t he M inist ry of Finance
Federal governm ent int ervent ion in t he form of t ariff regulat ion
Transfer t he aut horit y of det erm ining t ariffs t o service operat ors
Sum m ary of t ariff deregulat ion t o be prepared by t he M inist ry of Railw ays and present ed before t he ECC
3. Reducing num ber of docum ent s required for export ing and im port ing purposes
Laborious docum ent at ion procedures
Elect ronic Cust om s Declarat ion Form should be adopt ed
To be done by
Cust om s’ depart m ent of Federal Board of Revenue
4. Com prehensive, user-friendly and int erconnect ed elect ronic dat a int erchange syst em
Too m any docum ent s t o be filled m anually
Pakist an Cust om s Com put erised Syst em should be rolled out on all t hrough out t he count ry’s cust om s post s
To be done by
Cust om s’ depart m ent of Federal Board of Revenue
5. Allow ing t raders t o clear t heir goods in t heir cit ies
Long clearing t im es at t he dry port s due t o: inadequat e
infrast ruct ure and poor cust om facilit ies
Sialkot Dry Port t rust m odel should be replicat ed on all dry port s
To be pursued by t he M inist ry of
Com m erce, M inist ry of Com m unicat ions and M inist ry of Railw ays
40
Goal Current Issues Proposed Actions Institutional
arrangement required
6. Efficient urban t ransport for facilit at ing cit izens and limit ing increasing burden on road infrast ruct ure
Inadequat e and non-t ransparent rout e allocat ions;
Poor qualit y cont rols;
Lack of buses;
No prot ect ion / insurance for new ent rant s against t he host ilit y from exist ing m afia
Inadequat e
regulat ory cont rols
All rout es should be
realigned and auct ioned in a t ransparent m anner;
M inim um num ber of buses on each rout e and t heir qualit y should be observed st rict ly;
Provide bus/ van insurance cover t o new ent rant s against unexpect ed event — e.g., at t acks during prot est s;
Separat e bus lane on 3 and m ore t han 3 lane roads
M inist ry of Transport (provincial level);
Cit y developm ent aut horit ies e.g. CDA, LDA, KDA et c.
7. Com pet it ive aviat ion sect or
Close cooperat ion of governm ent w it h PIA;
Lengt hy
docum ent at ions;
Unrealist ic condit ions;
Biased rout e/ slot allocat ions
Dom est ic and Int ernat ional rout es should be auct ioned;
Docum ent at ion procedure should be reduced;
M axim um t ime lim it for responding t o various applicat ions;
Elim inat e requirem ent of m aint aining m inim um financial capit al before invest ing;
Privat isation of nat ional airport s.
To be undert aken by Civil Aviat ion
41
Goal Current Issues Proposed Actions Institutional
arrangement required
8. M aking int ernat ional rout es econom ically feasible for nat ional airlines
Less dem and for t ravel t o Africa, Cent ral Asia, Sout h East Asia
Int roduce 6t h Freedom Right s. It allow s airlines t o carry passengers from one count ry t o anot her w hile m aking a st op in it s ow n count ry
To be proposed by t he Civil Aviat ion
Aut horit y and approved by t he ECC
9. Prom ot ing e- governm ent t o offer m ore online services
Poor ICT skills w it hin government depart m ent s;
No legal cover for Digit al IDs;
ICT t raining should be m ade com pulsory for governm ent em ployees;
All depart m ent s should m ake t heir w ebsit es m ore act ive by uploading all project det ails;
Back office of each depart m ent should be aut om at ed t o bring all t he inform at ion online and enhance int er depart m ent al sharing;
Elect ronic Signat ure Act should be passed t o provide legal cover t o t he use of Digit al IDs, Signat ure cert ificat es and elect ronic aut hent icat ion
All governm ent depart m ent s w it h help from t he M inist ry of Inform at ion Technology; Act t o be prepared by t he M inist ry of Inform at ion Technology and Pakist an
Telecom m unicat ion Aut horit y
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Goal Current Issues Proposed Actions Institutional
arrangement required
10. Prom ot ing privat e sect or invest m ent in infrast ruct ure developm ent
No requirem ent of involving privat e sect or in follow ing docum ent s: PC-1; NHA Act et c.
Rest rict ions of local governm ent t o finance
developm ent project s
Im proper
procurem ent law and processes
Land acquisit ion law s in conflict w it h int ernat ional norm s
Int roducing ‘PPP Opt ion Analysis’ in PC-1 and NHA Act
Review ing rest rict ions on local governm ent s in local bodies act
Am ending procurem ent law s; m aking it m andat ory for public body t o consider infrast ruct ure service delivery t hrough t he privat e sect or.
Decent ralise procurem ent processes.
Bring land acquisit ion laws in line w it h int ernat ional best pract ices
Planning Com mission; NHA; ECC
Provincial Governm ent s
M inist ry of Law ; Respect ive bodies;
ECC
M inist ry of Law
11. Prom ot ing ICT skills w it hin rural com m unit ies
Poor ICT infrast ruct ure; No ICT labs in m ost of governm ent ow ned rural schools;
Lack of aw areness;
ICT infrast ruct ure should be provided t o rural schools along w it h skilled t raining st aff (e.g. Punjab
governm ent m odel);
Int ernet cent res-cum - t raining inst it ut es should be est ablished in rural t ow n cent res t o facilit at e people t hrough effect ive use of int ernet and spread aw areness
M inist ry of Inform at ion Technology should encourage ICT firm s t o t ake up such project s on volunt ary basis;
M inist ry of Inform at ion and Technology should also arrange
appropriat e space in corroborat ion w it h rural governm ent s for int erest ed firm s
43
Goal Current Issues Proposed Actions Institutional
arrangement required
12. Flourishing and innovat ive t elecom sect or
Encourage PTA for it s progressive policies and facilit at e it s act ions by rem oving hurdles in t heir im plem ent at ion
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Appendix 1
Suppose persons A, B and C w ish t o arrive in London. A is in Islam abad, B in Delhi and C in Beijing. All t hree m ust leave on 20t h Oct ober, 2010 and ret urn on 27t h of Oct ober, 2010.
Cheapest fare t hat A could get w as PKR 71,550. Act ual flight t im e w as 8 hours for a direct flight but t he t ot al t ravel t im e varies bet w een 12 t o 26 hours, depending on t he rout e and connect ing flight s.
Cheapest fare t hat B could get w as PKR 65,070 (convert ed from Indian rupees), despit e longer dist ance from Delhi t o London. Tot al flight t im e w it h connect ing flight s is approxim at ely t he sam e as from Islamabad, w it h only an hour m ore for a direct flight .
Cost (in PKR) per kilomet re w as PKR 11.36 for person A, PKR 9.68 for person B and, PKR 8.77 for person C.
Appendix 2
Survey Analysis
A survey w as conduct ed for t his st udy t o get first hand experience of cit izens’ problem s. Out of 120 surveys dist ribut ed t o various universit ies, engineering firm s and governm ent agencies locat ed in eit her Islamabad or Raw alpindi, 83 per cent response rat e w as achieved. Target ing universit ies provided wit h easy access t o yout h belonging t o different areas of Pakist an and t herefore helped in significant ly elim inat ing t he sam ple bias problem.
In t he sam ple, 52 per cent of t he respondent s belong to t he age group of 21-25 years followed by 30 per cent from t he age group of 26 and above. Rem aining 18 per cent are bet w een 17-20 years of age. Sim ilarly, 38 per cent are fully em ployed including 1 per cent unpaid em ploym ent , 58 per cent are st udent s w hile 4 per cent are bot h st udent and em ployed.
Public Transport
Question: How often do you use public transport facility?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Daily 26 26.0 26.0 26.0
Once or twice a week 15 15.0 15.0 41.0
Once in two weeks 19 19.0 19.0 60.0
Once a month 19 19.0 19.0 79.0
Never 21 21.0 21.0 100.0
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It w as found t hat only 26 per cent of t he respondent s use public t ransport on daily basis. How ever, t here is considerable demand w hich is visible from 41 per cent respondent s using it at least once or t w ice a w eek and 60 per cent using it at least once in t wo w eeks. On t he ot her hand, only 21 per cent respondent s said t hey never use public t ransport .
M ain problem s faced w hile comm ut ing are qualit y and lack of t ransport . 51 per cent report ed t hat t hey t hink qualit y is t he m ajor issue w hile 36 per cent view it t o be lack of t ransport . Of t he female respondent s, m any reasoned securit y-relat ed issues t o be t he m ain reason for t heir reluct ance t o t ravel on buses. On t he cont rary, only 13 per cent report ed higher prices t o be t heir m ajor concern. This highlight s t hat current ly insufficient rout es are being served w it h inadequat e num ber of buses. It , t herefore, m akes it necessary for t he regulat ors t o realign exist ing rout es and ensure m inim um num ber of buses per rout e.
Question: Problems faced while commuting via public transport?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Lack of transport(long delays) 36 36.0 36.0 36.0
High prices/fares 13 13.0 13.0 49.0
Quality of transport 51 51.0 51.0 100.0
Total 100 100.0 100.0
Lim it at ions: Sam ple only covers t hose w ho are eit her st udent s or are in full t im e em ploym ent . Those w ho are eit her not em ployed or are involved in day labour should be st udied in det ail as t hey have a higher probabilit y of t ravelling via public t ransport . This higher probabilit y is m ainly due t o t heir low incom e levels w hich do not allow t hem t o ow n a m ode of t ransport .
Railw ays
Problem s facing rail t ravel are also very sim ilar but of great er m agnit ude. Alm ost all t he part icipant s com plained of poor services. How ever, 55 per cent t hought of it as a m ajor problem w hile 16 per cent opt ed for long delays. It was found t hat 57 per cent of t he sam ple had never t ravelled via rail. Out of t he universit y st udent s, w ho represent t he new er generat ion, only 36 per cent had ever used railw ays. This is again due t o poor services and long delays w hich 78 per cent of all t he st udent s considered t o be t heir im m ediat e issues.
Question: How often do you use railw ays as mode of transport?
At least once a week Once in two weeks Once in a month Once every
six months Once a year Never
Total
Employed 0 0 3 10 5 19 37
46
student 1 1 5 10 4 37 58
Working
student 0 0 0 2 2 0 4
Total 1 1 8 22 11 57 100
Question: W hy do you not travel via Railw ays?
Rail St at ion Far from
Residence
Long
Delays
Poor
qualit y
Take m ore t im e t han
bus
Tot al
Frequency 14 16 55 15 100
Limit at ions: Given t hat 57 per cent of t he sam ple has never used railw ays, it can be observed t hat m uch
of t he com plaint s are based on t he percept ion of our respondent s inst ead of t heir experience. Aviation
Air t ravel is considered t o be t he m ost at t ract ive m ode of t ravel for long dist ances but is t he least used due t o higher prices. Only 36 per cent had ever experienced air t ravel and 86 per cent find it expensive. Of t he em ployed class, 41 per cent use it at least once a year but t his significant ly goes dow n t o 31 per cent for st udent s.
Lim it at ions: Air t ravel has alw ays been an expensive m ode of t ransport . Just because t he respondent s cannot afford an air t icket does not lead t o any significant analysis. It w ill be m ore appropriat e t o link t his quest ion w it h t he individual or fam ily incom e levels.
W hat should w e do w ith Public Sector Enterprises?
Frequency Cumulative Percent
Valid Privatise completely 36 36.0
Public-Private partnership 26 62.0
Do not privatise but allow them to work on commercial basis
27 89.0
Continue giving subsidy 5 94.0
Dont know 6 100.0
Total 100
When asked ‘how should w e im prove Pakist an Railw ays and Pakist an Int ernat ional Airline?’ 36 per cent preferred privat isation over any ot her solut ion. 26 per cent w ere in favour of public-privat e part nership and 27 per cent w ant t he governm ent t o run t he affairs of t hese ent erprises on com m ercial basis. M ost im port ant ly, only 5 per cent w ant ed t he governm ent t o cont inue giving t hem subsidy. This is a m ajor finding and is against t he general percept ion of possible public anger against privat isation.
47 Youth
Anot her crit ical issue w hich deserves t o be highlight ed is lim it ed role of universities in career counselling. Only 20 per cent of t he st udent s said t hat t hey received som e job-relat ed inform at ion from t heir respect ive universit ies. Out of t hose w orking, only 3 per cent received help from t heir educat ional inst it ut ions w hen looking for a job.
Lim it at ion: It is not know n if t he respect ive universit y did offer career counselling and it w as t he respondent him self w ho decided not t o avail it .
Use of Internet
Int ernet has com e t o t he forefront in helping st udent s looking for jobs. 29 per cent of t he respondent s find role of int ernet t o be t he m ost im port ant in t heir job hunt . New spapers, how ever, st ill play a lead role w it h t heir share of 31 per cent . Rem aining 26 per cent prefer relying on t heir friends and family. Significant use of int ernet for t his purpose, despit e limit ed em ploym ent inform at ion being available online, provides t he labour m arket w it h a m uch t ransparent plat form w hich is all set t o be fully exploit ed. Dedicat ed job port als along wit h online career counselling can play a significant role in ensuring efficient signalling. Use of Int ernet has also st art ed t o becom e visible in t he professional