Growth through devolution

With our country’s widely speculated hazy future under a six-party coalition federal government, more responsibility has devolved to the two relatively developed provinces ruled by majority parties to address current economic problems. Securing majorities in provincial assemblies, PML-N and PPP have once again assumed power in Punjab and Sindh. The two parties are also key allies in the federal setup. This tends to strengthen political stability. The question is: Will this stability be used to bring about transformational change or be wasted in defending the faltering status quo? To recall a quote by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, “trying to defend the status quo as if it is immutable is to hasten the collapse of the status quo.” However, many expect the provinces to focus on the untapped revenue potential from Agriculture Income Tax (AIT) for much-needed investment to increase farm productivity.