Zonked out Zakat

The recent Hajj scandal created copious furor amongst the faithfuls who saw a glimpse of the how klepocratic governance taints a pillar of the religion. Whilst there is not much the government can do with the other 3 pillars, one pillar in particular has been desecrated for too long now. The pillar of Zakat. As a part of his Islamisation package General Zia introduced the Zakar and Ushr Ordinance of 1980 which was supposed to usher Pakistan into a new age of egalitarianism and equality by forcing everyone to pay zakat as a state duty rather than a religious duty. This was to be enforced through all means of state operations and applied to banks as well. A bulky bureaucratic system was established to conduct the affairs and ensure that the faithful do indeed perform their religious duty.   Countless scandals have heaped up with the incorrect use of the zakat money. We hear of it being used to fund frivolous government expenses of cars for ministers and even holiday trips to luxury islands. The Shiites are exempt from this government duty and as a result of this marred ordinance the government books saw a surge in the population of people who identify themselves as Shias.

The system of Zakat was introduced in Islam to reduce the disparity between the rich and the poor. We all hear of the example of Zakat working so well that in the times of Hazrat Umar there were zakat payers but no one wanted to receive it because they had already benefited so much from the zakat. Zakat needs to be differentiated from government imposed taxes. Even the most incorrigible tax evader would happily pay zakat because it is a divine duty and not one that can be imposed by the state upon an individual. Given that it is a divine duty the practice is essentially voluntary. By bringing zakat under the state system the government has gained access to tremendous funds that people pay along with their taxes. The province of Punjab alone had gathered more than Rs. 40 billion in zakat collections last year. Despite such tremendous funds we see that the income disparity is rising and the developmental projects that could benefit the poor are being capped.

There are however several changes that can be fashioned to save the poor of Pakistan and the faithful zakat payers from complete disillusionment from the state. The first and most important amongst these moves is depoliticizing the zakat department. Presently all the officials are government appointees and whoever gets voted into power, appoints their own people. For zakat funds to be spent by biased officials in the PML or PPP constituencies depending on where which votes were cast is fundamentally repugnant to the concept itself.

It is suggested that an alternate zakat system be devised on the ideas of devolution and decentralization. This would involve creation of lists of zakat payer which would be created by the zakat payers themselves in any particular area. These lists would be an electoral college and from amongst them the zakat payers will select officials to spend the zakat on tehsil and district levels. The spending of zakat, rather then being doled out to beggars, needs to be instead utilized in the formation of industries and economic units that generate income and employment for the people.  

The government still needs to regulate the zakat collection and spending to prevent mismanagement by appointed individuals. For this authority however only a monitoring role is needed and therefore calls for the axing of almost all senior positions in the zakat department. The white elephant named the Zakat Ministry also needs to abolished in this detoxification drive. The parasitic ministry and senior positions are all utilizing government funds for functions that could just as well be performed by individuals if not better. For governmental control and the retention of guidance that popular elected governments can impart the zakat departments need to be brought under the Chief Minister. The chairman of the department is to be appointed by the chief minister to ensure government interest and guiding role. The secretary of the department would also be answerable directly to the Chief Minister.

The political interest of parties in zakat collection and implementation needs to be retained because of the zakat has ample effects on the government budget and economic policies. It increases the productivity of a state by improving the health and nourishment and also expands the physical, mental and spiritual abilities of the citizens. It influences the prices of commodities and increases investments in certain areas. Since it increases consumption, the employment rates also rise. It is also an important tool in formulating an economic policy. Its use however must be wise and democratic in nature to ensure fair collection and dispersion.