By Ahmad Jawad





Lets have a look at some of the Finance Ministers and their qualifications in India.





Morarjee Desai presented budget for 10 times - had no relevant qualification.





Pranab Mukarjee, -”- 7 times - M.A. [History & political science], LL.B.





Yashwant Sinha, presented budget for 7 times - M.A. [Political science], IAS





Yashawant Chavan presented budget for 7 times - M.A





C D Deshmukh -presented budget for 6 times - CIE, ICS.





Dr. Manmohan Sing -presented budget for 6 times - Had most relevant qualification as well as working experience as RBI governor.





If you recollect even Rajiv Gandhi presented budget in 1987, the only qualification he had was his surname - Gandhi.





A Finance Minister needs not to be an economist. This is what world’s largest democracy & rising global economic power tells us. Similar examples can be seen with Lee Kuan, Mahathir & Erdogan. They are mostly politicians or businessmen.





We must be able to distinguish between an employee working in private sector & a businessman or entrepreneur. An employee working in private sector even at the position of CEO is an obedient, disciplined, hardworking & efficient employee who works for the vision given to him. He is good to lead a running business with good resources available to him. An employee is rarely exposed to risks, threats, & challenges unlike a businessman. An employee’s month ends with a salary. His total security lies in a salary. He only feel insecure when fired from a job, otherwise his thought process is next promotion & following instructions from his Managment & keeping them happy. Such a person might reach to the status of CEO & may perform well for that organisation. He is a bad choice for a sinking ship. He might be a good choice for a ship sailing smoothly.





My suggestion is to never hire such a person for the position of Finance Minister. He will sink like a stone.





ON THE OTHER HAND:





A successful entrepreneur or businessman is a better choice for Finance Minister position. A successful entrepreneur is:





-Daring
-Creative
-Full of initiative
-Knows how to turn a unit into profit.
-Can pick his team better than any other.
-Cannot be fooled easily by bureaucracy.
-Can diagnose the problem very quickly.
-Always carries a vision which can turn into reality.
-An achiever & doer.
-Fast decision maker.
-His ability to create an Empire out of scratch is matchless compared to any other professional.
-He is very passionate with his goals & objectives.





Only warning sign here is that we must recognise those thugs, money launderer, Drug Lords, Qabza group who are also well disguised under the definition of entrepreneurs.





Most important when choosing a Finance Minister is his commitment to his roots in Pakistan. Any person with all his stakes abroad may never click that magic which only comes through passion & commitment.
Although there are successful overseas Pakistani entrepreneurs who want to come back only to serve Pakistan with their expertise & skill. Such overeseas Pakistanis can be trusted.