REMITTANCES – NO ONE REALLY WANTS
By Javed – 25 January 2020
To help achieve targeted remittances, the Ministry of Finance had taken host of new measure. Remittances soared to S11.4b during first half of 2020 said the Ministry including the manpower export exceeding from 382,000 to 625,000 in 2019. On the other hand, the Governor SBP said this month that the Overseas Pakistanis were increasingly using informal channels to send remittances. Amongst other he quoted one reason for it as “questions asked”.
2. Since quite sometime File figure work is the only tool measuring our achievements not what the naked eyes showed. With regular intervals, we are given music how substantially the remittances and manpower export exceeded due to our wise successive rulers. The air from the balloon comes out when within next a month we read the foreign reserves having decreased. The number of Pakistanis “physically” in the Middle East is continuously decreasing. If memory of this too old is not bent upon to let him down, 4-5 years back when SBP Governor disclosed regular dollars going out through airports, Shabbar Zaidi (or perhaps of someone else of same high caliber) in a talk show said much of the huge remittances being received contained the black money earlier flown out and re-sent as home remittances for tax benefits. In line with this figure work tendency or lip service, in order to boost remittances different statements keep coming from big mouths which in practice contain no practical ingredient. For one example, October 2018 talking with the senior journalists/Editors, PM Imran Khan announced “enhanced incentives” for Overseas Pakistanis. Our newspapers and anchors, as usual, without knowing details, started showering flowers. The practical was that PM Imran Khan government had increased incentives only for the Banks and their agents sending remittances to Pakistan, not a single Rupee got the real Overseas Pakistanis like me who regularly remitted.
3. Two weeks back I remitted through a Pakistani Bank here in Bahrain to my real younger brother in Lahore. Though all our remittances are “urgently needed back home”, this one really was as it was for the marriage of his daughter next week. Since remittances reach today in 30-40 minutes within the same Bank, I advised my brother to collect it after an hour. In the evening he rang me the money did not reach despite his three visits till close of the Bank.
4. Every month, I send 3-5 remittances. During the last 30 years I can’t recall if any remittance took more than 60 minutes in delivery to the beneficiary. Now our Finance Ministry which has never in practice done anything real good for the ordinary, since desired to boost remittances and take measures for it, naturally trouble, in an integral part of such boosting was definitely to come. Nawaz Sharif during his first tenure announced making the life of ordinary at ease by simplifying office procedures. In compliance, the Sui Northern Gas immediately introduced a new condition for the new connection seekers. It added in its procedure that henceforth an applicant will attach with his new connection application a copy of the “Paid Gas Bill” of his next neighbor. Will anyone in our society just “show” his utility bill to his neighbor let alone a copy of that?
5. When I moved the issue, I was told father’s name and date of birth of my brother beneficiary was needed. I was told one “Compliance” Department had blocked my remittance for want of this information. Since thirty years I am monthly remitting, this information has never been required. The only needed requirement of the Banks during all these 30 long years had been the name of the beneficiary, his CNIC and mobile number.
6. If the father’s name and date of birth of the beneficiary are required for boosting remittances, then why the Finance Ministry had not officially informed my remitting Pakistani Bank in Bahrain about it so it could had taken this info from me at the time of accepting remittance from me? If “Compliance Department” needed it, why it did not immediately contacted me on mobile or through an official SMS for that rather than it sitting tight on eggs? Had I not moved myself, naturally remittance would had remained blocked uncertainty. How many from amongst our ordinary know as to how move in right direction?
7. Somewhere in 1983-85 I had to send some money urgently to a family friend. That time remittance was only through Bank Drafts. These were sent to the families in Pakistan by registered mail which at an average took 7-10 days in delivery, a day for deposit in the bank and 2-3 days in clearance/credit. I needed the amount to reach urgently as it was required for an immediate operation. I searched if someone was going to Pakistan. I was relatively a new in Bahrain and did know such about the surrounding. Seeing my desperation, an office colleague took money from me assuring it would be delivered. After about two hours he told me that the money had reached to my beneficiary. Later it transpired, he went to an informal channel from where just within an hour a shopkeeper in the area of my beneficiary’s city knocked the door and delivered the money without even taking any receipt.
8. No one “in real terms” is interested in boosting of remittances except for periodical slogans as in case it was seriously done, the operators of informal channels would heavily suffer and which in no case is desired to happen.
By Javed – 25 January 2020
To help achieve targeted remittances, the Ministry of Finance had taken host of new measure. Remittances soared to S11.4b during first half of 2020 said the Ministry including the manpower export exceeding from 382,000 to 625,000 in 2019. On the other hand, the Governor SBP said this month that the Overseas Pakistanis were increasingly using informal channels to send remittances. Amongst other he quoted one reason for it as “questions asked”.
2. Since quite sometime File figure work is the only tool measuring our achievements not what the naked eyes showed. With regular intervals, we are given music how substantially the remittances and manpower export exceeded due to our wise successive rulers. The air from the balloon comes out when within next a month we read the foreign reserves having decreased. The number of Pakistanis “physically” in the Middle East is continuously decreasing. If memory of this too old is not bent upon to let him down, 4-5 years back when SBP Governor disclosed regular dollars going out through airports, Shabbar Zaidi (or perhaps of someone else of same high caliber) in a talk show said much of the huge remittances being received contained the black money earlier flown out and re-sent as home remittances for tax benefits. In line with this figure work tendency or lip service, in order to boost remittances different statements keep coming from big mouths which in practice contain no practical ingredient. For one example, October 2018 talking with the senior journalists/Editors, PM Imran Khan announced “enhanced incentives” for Overseas Pakistanis. Our newspapers and anchors, as usual, without knowing details, started showering flowers. The practical was that PM Imran Khan government had increased incentives only for the Banks and their agents sending remittances to Pakistan, not a single Rupee got the real Overseas Pakistanis like me who regularly remitted.
3. Two weeks back I remitted through a Pakistani Bank here in Bahrain to my real younger brother in Lahore. Though all our remittances are “urgently needed back home”, this one really was as it was for the marriage of his daughter next week. Since remittances reach today in 30-40 minutes within the same Bank, I advised my brother to collect it after an hour. In the evening he rang me the money did not reach despite his three visits till close of the Bank.
4. Every month, I send 3-5 remittances. During the last 30 years I can’t recall if any remittance took more than 60 minutes in delivery to the beneficiary. Now our Finance Ministry which has never in practice done anything real good for the ordinary, since desired to boost remittances and take measures for it, naturally trouble, in an integral part of such boosting was definitely to come. Nawaz Sharif during his first tenure announced making the life of ordinary at ease by simplifying office procedures. In compliance, the Sui Northern Gas immediately introduced a new condition for the new connection seekers. It added in its procedure that henceforth an applicant will attach with his new connection application a copy of the “Paid Gas Bill” of his next neighbor. Will anyone in our society just “show” his utility bill to his neighbor let alone a copy of that?
5. When I moved the issue, I was told father’s name and date of birth of my brother beneficiary was needed. I was told one “Compliance” Department had blocked my remittance for want of this information. Since thirty years I am monthly remitting, this information has never been required. The only needed requirement of the Banks during all these 30 long years had been the name of the beneficiary, his CNIC and mobile number.
6. If the father’s name and date of birth of the beneficiary are required for boosting remittances, then why the Finance Ministry had not officially informed my remitting Pakistani Bank in Bahrain about it so it could had taken this info from me at the time of accepting remittance from me? If “Compliance Department” needed it, why it did not immediately contacted me on mobile or through an official SMS for that rather than it sitting tight on eggs? Had I not moved myself, naturally remittance would had remained blocked uncertainty. How many from amongst our ordinary know as to how move in right direction?
7. Somewhere in 1983-85 I had to send some money urgently to a family friend. That time remittance was only through Bank Drafts. These were sent to the families in Pakistan by registered mail which at an average took 7-10 days in delivery, a day for deposit in the bank and 2-3 days in clearance/credit. I needed the amount to reach urgently as it was required for an immediate operation. I searched if someone was going to Pakistan. I was relatively a new in Bahrain and did know such about the surrounding. Seeing my desperation, an office colleague took money from me assuring it would be delivered. After about two hours he told me that the money had reached to my beneficiary. Later it transpired, he went to an informal channel from where just within an hour a shopkeeper in the area of my beneficiary’s city knocked the door and delivered the money without even taking any receipt.
8. No one “in real terms” is interested in boosting of remittances except for periodical slogans as in case it was seriously done, the operators of informal channels would heavily suffer and which in no case is desired to happen.
