A long-term Pakistani resident of Monrovia, Liberia, I'm currently back home in Islamabad for a rather long sojourn. I've been here since end of January and, in the melting heat of July, I am missing the cool rainy season of Monrovia that bestows infinite amounts of rain from April to October on the world's wettest capital. After so many months of visiting Islamabad, I miss Monrovia, a city of 16 years of post war peace and reconciliation which was founded almost 200 years ago by African-American free slaves. I miss Randall Street where I live, our dog Bijli, Kavita's father Haresh who is running our family business, and my colourful apartment. I miss Monday night dinners at Mama Susu. I miss the mighty waves of the Atlantic Ocean and the stunning beaches. I especially miss the evening walks that end up on Snapper Hill which has the most majestic vantage point overlooking the city, flanked on either side by the Embassy of the Big Bad United States and the 19th-century Masonic Temple.
Islamabad on the other hand is a small and green capital, organised neatly into grid-like sectors, unimaginatively named with English alphabet letters and numbers. So, my parents' house is in F-11/4 on East Service Road lined with purple jacaranda trees that blossom in March and April. Hardly 50 years old, Islamabad was mainly a deathly-boring town which in the past 10 years has livened up with hipster restaurants, boutiques, designer dhabas and coffeeshops. It is remarkably ironic that this quiet, pretty and compact town is the capital of a powerful security state.
This unplanned sojourn has been prompted by Kavita getting diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder and, I have to stay here to get her properly treated. Thankfully, medical care and facilities are very good in the Land of the Pure and, tragically, healthcare in Africa's oldest republic is 20-30 years backward.
So, while I'm here in this time gap, it's a good time to think about politics in both Liberia and Pakistan.
It's almost 1 year since Pakistan elected a former cricketer to the office of Prime Minister and, it's been about a year and half since Liberia elected a footballer to its highest office of President.
Islamabad on the other hand is a small and green capital, organised neatly into grid-like sectors, unimaginatively named with English alphabet letters and numbers. So, my parents' house is in F-11/4 on East Service Road lined with purple jacaranda trees that blossom in March and April. Hardly 50 years old, Islamabad was mainly a deathly-boring town which in the past 10 years has livened up with hipster restaurants, boutiques, designer dhabas and coffeeshops. It is remarkably ironic that this quiet, pretty and compact town is the capital of a powerful security state.
This unplanned sojourn has been prompted by Kavita getting diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder and, I have to stay here to get her properly treated. Thankfully, medical care and facilities are very good in the Land of the Pure and, tragically, healthcare in Africa's oldest republic is 20-30 years backward.
So, while I'm here in this time gap, it's a good time to think about politics in both Liberia and Pakistan.
It's almost 1 year since Pakistan elected a former cricketer to the office of Prime Minister and, it's been about a year and half since Liberia elected a footballer to its highest office of President.
What magic does a year of electing a sports figure weave? For one, both economies are in a marathon of a mess.
Hardly a few months in office, George Weah's Presidency was hit by a missing currency containers scandal : billions of freshly printed Liberian dollars went missing. Talk about foul misconduct. Blame was lumped on hallowed Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's (Africa's first female President, a highly decorated and qualified and UN-approved head of state) previous administration.
Blame games also dot Imran Khan's harsh and base party rhetoric. All day and all night, he and his party members hit balls out of the park, a non-ending stream of blame chakkas. Highlighting corruption by corrupt politicians as Pakistan's Number 1 problem, Imran Khan's administration has relentlessly hounded the opposition but the economy has floundered. Despite bragging that he would never hold a begging bowl for foreign aid, he has made numerous trips abroad and, brought back some change, a few US billions here and there. IMF's doors were also knocked (also something which Khan vowed never to do) and, a paltry sum of US $ 6 billion (Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, has at least 5 times that much in foreign exchange reserves) was agreed on to solve the exchange crisis. In return, poor asses will be taxed dry. Inflation and employment will rocket in the next 3 years, predicted by economists and experts. Amongst his endless list of promises, Khan promised to bring back looted billions from abroad. We still have to see any of it.
Blame games also dot Imran Khan's harsh and base party rhetoric. All day and all night, he and his party members hit balls out of the park, a non-ending stream of blame chakkas. Highlighting corruption by corrupt politicians as Pakistan's Number 1 problem, Imran Khan's administration has relentlessly hounded the opposition but the economy has floundered. Despite bragging that he would never hold a begging bowl for foreign aid, he has made numerous trips abroad and, brought back some change, a few US billions here and there. IMF's doors were also knocked (also something which Khan vowed never to do) and, a paltry sum of US $ 6 billion (Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, has at least 5 times that much in foreign exchange reserves) was agreed on to solve the exchange crisis. In return, poor asses will be taxed dry. Inflation and employment will rocket in the next 3 years, predicted by economists and experts. Amongst his endless list of promises, Khan promised to bring back looted billions from abroad. We still have to see any of it.
It's so bad in Naya Pakistan (a "New and Apparently Improved" Pakistan promised to be delivered by Khan) that economists and experts are saying no government led by General Pervez Musharraf or Corrupt Politicians has managed to wreak on the economy in last 10 years that Khan and Co have in 1 year. The US Dollar - Pakistan Rupee exchange has hit 160!
George Weah on the other hand has been trying to win Presidential elections against Ellen Johnson Sirleaf since 2005 and, he finally made it in 2018. No one can remember what he campaigned for and, his party's manifesto is mostly vague, some of it international development jargon. His January 2018 Inaugural Address was forgettable except for a rather bold mention of reforming Liberia's citizenship laws which are regressive and, are based on race. I believe some of his European football colleagues attended his inauguration. Since coming to power, Weah has also made many foreign trips and there were talks that a terrible natural-resources-for -roads bargain was struck with China. There is also embarrassing news that Weah has been building private homes for himself as soon as he was elected at a time when Liberia's economy, historically dependent on foreign extractive investments, has been sinking.
Apparently it's so bad that my friends who work in the Government say salaries have not been paid for months and, often there's no money to run the generators. What's more, donors and Ambassadors wrote the President to point out missing donor funds. Unbelievably, the government agreed that funds had been taken out of accounts to pay for salaries!
Liberia's dual-currency economy started tanking midway into Sirleaf's 2-term reign as President after global commodity prices crashed. Many mining companies pulled out and, expansion of oil palm concessions was also stunted, partly by land right activists' work. Currently, the Liberian dollar is at an all-time high of 200 to 1 US Dollar. The salaried government servant or marketeer is suffering.
Masses look to Populists
George Weah on the other hand has been trying to win Presidential elections against Ellen Johnson Sirleaf since 2005 and, he finally made it in 2018. No one can remember what he campaigned for and, his party's manifesto is mostly vague, some of it international development jargon. His January 2018 Inaugural Address was forgettable except for a rather bold mention of reforming Liberia's citizenship laws which are regressive and, are based on race. I believe some of his European football colleagues attended his inauguration. Since coming to power, Weah has also made many foreign trips and there were talks that a terrible natural-resources-for -roads bargain was struck with China. There is also embarrassing news that Weah has been building private homes for himself as soon as he was elected at a time when Liberia's economy, historically dependent on foreign extractive investments, has been sinking.
Apparently it's so bad that my friends who work in the Government say salaries have not been paid for months and, often there's no money to run the generators. What's more, donors and Ambassadors wrote the President to point out missing donor funds. Unbelievably, the government agreed that funds had been taken out of accounts to pay for salaries!
Liberia's dual-currency economy started tanking midway into Sirleaf's 2-term reign as President after global commodity prices crashed. Many mining companies pulled out and, expansion of oil palm concessions was also stunted, partly by land right activists' work. Currently, the Liberian dollar is at an all-time high of 200 to 1 US Dollar. The salaried government servant or marketeer is suffering.
Masses look to Populists
Cricketer Imran Khan’s rise as a
politician was a long one. He's been trying to get in for the last 20 years or so. Footballer George Weah’s political journey to
President started in 2005 when he first ran for elections in newly peaceful Liberia after a horrific civil war. Both populist campaigns whipped up frustrated masses and, toppled established parties.
Anyone remember how much Imran Khan was ridiculed for
joining politics? I remember a photograph of his nodding off in an airplane and
the caption consoled him for at least having 1 seat, even if it was just an
airplane passenger seat. Although highly revered as cricket hero who brought
national honour to the country for winning the 1992 World Cup and for his
social work in setting up a cancer hospital, his entry into politics was not
easy. Similarly, elites ridiculed George Weah for not even being able to deliver a public speech and, not having any academic credentials (George Weah served as Senator until he was elected President and also acquired a degree from the United States).
Why do masses love Khan and Weah? For sure, celebrated sports figures have a hallowed space in peoples’ imagination. Muhammad Ali didn’t seek political office but is revered not only as a boxer but, for his stand on Vietnam and civil rights. Billie Jean King and her legend was revived recently through a film made in her honour, a poignant moment for the current hyper macho, jingoistic and right wing rise in various democracies around the world. But should we elect them to office?
Khan transformed himself from a London playboy into a born against Muslim, a social worker who built a cancer hospital and relentlessly fought to bring his party into prominence and get a seat at the table until his party won Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2013 where he ruled for 5 years. Khan not only brought the masses but the middle class into his party by campaigning about corruption and presenting himself as a messiah. His followers simply believe he is honest and because he's already successful he will not loot the country.
Weah's supporters are truly the masses. He himself rose from the slums of West Point and, became one of the world's most beloved footballers. People think he is one of them. From the outset, the poorest of the poor and the disenfranchised have faithfully supported him against Sirleaf who has more of an elitist image, having been educated at Harvard and worked in global institutions like the UN and Citibank. She is not seen as the hero as perhaps a sporting figure is, someone who brings pride and joy to the people. And, worse, she was cited by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2009 for having colluded and financed Charles Taylor. This gravely tainted her public reputation.
After Populists Come to Power - What Now?
It's said that criticism of George Weah is not tolerated and, he's taken an authoritarian streak in response to any noise. Sirleaf too became known for not kindly receiving critical rebuke.
Imran Khan's regime is no different and, enjoys the added blessings of the deep state i.e. the Armed Forces. This means that in Naya Pakistan critical response to the endless drivel about corruption cannot be openly rebutted because structurally, the main problem of Pakistan's economy is that the Armed Forces literally eat most of the money. They officially get a quarter of the budget. Moreover the Army has many business interests that generate a lot of income. Meanwhile, every civilian government has trudged off to the IMF for loans because no one can slash the Armed Forces or implement tax reforms.
Anyone with a love of Liberia will agree that Liberia has many achievements. Being Africa's first modern republic, the country supported pan African movements and solidarity, established a state with reputable hospitals and universities and, had a thriving open economy. However, a small tiny elite ruled the country and, the thriving open economy was based on an extractive model. A country blessed with minerals, forests and a long coastline did not develop any industry nor an educated or justly-treated citizenry. Worse, the same economic model was regurgitated in the post war era that absolutely fell flat on its face, exacerbating the conditions of a large poor population.
In Pakistan, no one can still dare touch the Army and it's control of our economic resources (not to mention our foreign policy). The populists who came to power last year know this and, carry on the charade of corruption.
Both Pakistan and Liberia are sadly dependent on international institutions like the IMF, the UN and Big Brothers. Structurally, they haven't re-aligned and reformed their economies to serve the people.
Why do masses love Khan and Weah? For sure, celebrated sports figures have a hallowed space in peoples’ imagination. Muhammad Ali didn’t seek political office but is revered not only as a boxer but, for his stand on Vietnam and civil rights. Billie Jean King and her legend was revived recently through a film made in her honour, a poignant moment for the current hyper macho, jingoistic and right wing rise in various democracies around the world. But should we elect them to office?
Khan transformed himself from a London playboy into a born against Muslim, a social worker who built a cancer hospital and relentlessly fought to bring his party into prominence and get a seat at the table until his party won Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2013 where he ruled for 5 years. Khan not only brought the masses but the middle class into his party by campaigning about corruption and presenting himself as a messiah. His followers simply believe he is honest and because he's already successful he will not loot the country.
Weah's supporters are truly the masses. He himself rose from the slums of West Point and, became one of the world's most beloved footballers. People think he is one of them. From the outset, the poorest of the poor and the disenfranchised have faithfully supported him against Sirleaf who has more of an elitist image, having been educated at Harvard and worked in global institutions like the UN and Citibank. She is not seen as the hero as perhaps a sporting figure is, someone who brings pride and joy to the people. And, worse, she was cited by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2009 for having colluded and financed Charles Taylor. This gravely tainted her public reputation.
After Populists Come to Power - What Now?
It's said that criticism of George Weah is not tolerated and, he's taken an authoritarian streak in response to any noise. Sirleaf too became known for not kindly receiving critical rebuke.
Imran Khan's regime is no different and, enjoys the added blessings of the deep state i.e. the Armed Forces. This means that in Naya Pakistan critical response to the endless drivel about corruption cannot be openly rebutted because structurally, the main problem of Pakistan's economy is that the Armed Forces literally eat most of the money. They officially get a quarter of the budget. Moreover the Army has many business interests that generate a lot of income. Meanwhile, every civilian government has trudged off to the IMF for loans because no one can slash the Armed Forces or implement tax reforms.
Anyone with a love of Liberia will agree that Liberia has many achievements. Being Africa's first modern republic, the country supported pan African movements and solidarity, established a state with reputable hospitals and universities and, had a thriving open economy. However, a small tiny elite ruled the country and, the thriving open economy was based on an extractive model. A country blessed with minerals, forests and a long coastline did not develop any industry nor an educated or justly-treated citizenry. Worse, the same economic model was regurgitated in the post war era that absolutely fell flat on its face, exacerbating the conditions of a large poor population.
In Pakistan, no one can still dare touch the Army and it's control of our economic resources (not to mention our foreign policy). The populists who came to power last year know this and, carry on the charade of corruption.
Both Pakistan and Liberia are sadly dependent on international institutions like the IMF, the UN and Big Brothers. Structurally, they haven't re-aligned and reformed their economies to serve the people.
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