Institutional Flaws in Implementing Regulatory Policies (PEMRA)

Abstract

PEMRA unlike other regulatory regimes was established and authorized to operate and regulate existing media frameworks in the country during a dictatorship in Pakistan. Such regulatory bodies are often found in countries with democratic values but this significant move from then President of the country Pervez Musharraf raised a lot of eyebrows. The growth of private media channels and numerous corporations after the establishment of PEMRA highlighted the transition of the country from controlled regime to mixed media economy (McChesney & McChesney, 2008).. However, there were numerous problems pertaining to this regulatory body as it is the case with similar other regulatory agencies in the country. The regulations and policies created for several media components in the economy are not implemented in the most legitimate manner. This is because the media industry was gradually allowed to consolidate their power into their vast empires and use that power to influence the policy makers to serve their own capitalist interests. This however does not mean that the regulations in place are necessarily bad for the socio-economic circumstances of the country or they contribute negatively to the society. This highlights the fact that PEMRA is not acquainted to the concept of self-regulation which inhibits its ability to perform its duties and its purpose effectively. The bested interest of other corporations in the industry has deemed it powerless since there has been observed numerous cases where regulatory exemptions have been granted and institutional flaws have been ignored to serve the interests of the monopolistic industry. Therefore, the idea that Pakistan is one of the few countries in the South Asia to have a regulatory regime does not sit well with the rest of the world since it is very clear that capitalist interests have routinely been able to skirt or oppose the regulatory system within which they are supposed to function (Mosco, 2009). This paper covers numerous aspects of the matter to determine what factors adversely impact the institution and which components and stakeholders are negatively contributing to the institutional flaws. The paper also highlights the flaws of the federal government for its inability to address the undue political influence problem and the resultant loss to the socioeconomic cause of the industry.