THE Federal Cabinet, which met in Islamabad on Monday with Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar in the chair, took several decisions of greater importance which will impact the national economy and some of them might also increase the woes of the general public. It sharply increased the natural gas tariff by up to 172pc for domestic consumers, tandoors and general industries, including export-oriented sectors, captive power plants, CNG and IPPs and commercial sectors; removed Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation from the privatization list and approved Hajj Policy for 2024 as well as Repatriation Order aimed at sending back illegal immigrants to their countries.
No doubt, the massive increase in the prices of gas for various categories of consumers is the direct product of an agreement concluded earlier with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and there was no escape for the government if it wanted to proceed ahead with the accord to pave the way for the release of the next IMF tranche. However, the move would reverse the process of gradual reduction in the prices of goods in the wake of significant reduction in the prices of POL products and improvement in the value of rupee. Therefore, the decision to increase the prices of gas for almost all consumers can be termed as retrogressive in nature as it would once again trigger inflation in the country and that too at a time when the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is forecasting the inflation to come down in coming months. The government claims the decision would not affect the protected domestic consumers but the amount of their fixed bills would increase from the existing about Rs 200 to Rs 900. In fact, the very concept of ‘protected consumers’ is flawed as ultimately it is the common man that would bear the burden of substantial increase in gas tariff for industrial and commercial consumers as well as for the CNG sector. This is because 136% increase in gas price for cafes, bakeries, milk shops, tea stalls, canteens, barber shops, laundries, hotels, malls, places of entertainment such as cinemas, clubs, theatres and private offices, corporate firms and ice factories would surely be passed on to their customers. Tariff increase for general industry, including cement and power plants, would also be passed on to the general public while the price of Roti would also go up as, contrary to verbal claims of the authorities concerned, price of gas for tandoors has also been hiked. Not much can be said about reversal of the decision for privatization of the Pakistan Steel Mills in the absence of details about future strategy of the government. The Mills is practically closed for all purposes and attempts to privatize the entity have apparently not been successful. More delay in firming up a viable strategy for the future of the institution would ruin it further and, therefore, the government should go for plans for revival of the Mills based on previous studies and recommendations. This would, of course, require bold, effective and prompt reforms which can be undertaken by the caretaker set-up as elected governments become hostage to political expediency. The Ministry of Religious Affairs surely deserves credit for the finalization of the policy for the next Hajj which, among other things envisages a short duration Hajj. According to Information Minister Murtaza Solangi, the 38 to 42-day Hajj package would account for Rs 1,065,000 for the Southern Region and Rs1,075,000 for the Northern Region, which were Rs100,000 less than those of the previous year. There is a need to bring it further down as the cumulative expenses are beyond the reach of the common man while Hajj for short duration must cost less to make it affordable for those who cannot arrange over one million rupees for the religious obligation. Approval of the Repatriation Order by the Federal Cabinet is yet another proof of the commitment of the government to go ahead with its decision of expelling all immigrants after expiry of the deadline for voluntary return. However, it is strange that official figures of illegal immigrants (99,000) are much less than the actual numbers which means attempts are being made to scuttle the campaign despite political will of the government to proceed ahead with the repatriation plan.
