Islamabad: Desperate times require desperate measures, as the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) — Pakistan’s premier business advocacy body — has stated that Pakistan “urgently needs to cut the use of imported fuel”.
Referring to a ten-point plan by the International Energy Agency (IEA) of less dependency on fossil fuel and encouragement of the work-from-home culture, the PBC mentioned this plan was adopted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
1. Planned power outages to minimise use of imported fuel. Max use of indigenous. 2. 4-day work at office, 1 day WFH. 3. 8 am-8pm hours for commercial est. 4. Alternate day car use (even/odd reg No.)
— The Pakistan Business Council (@ThePBC_Official) December 29, 2022
The PBC suggested that Pakistan should emulate this plan in a relevant way in the following ways:
- Planned power outages to minimize the use of imported fuel. Max use of indigenous.
- 4-day work at the office and a one-day work from home.
- 8 am-8 pm hours for commercial est
- Alternate day car use (even/odd reg No.)
The complete plan of action is presented in the picture.
The suggestion by the PBC has come amidst the worsening economic situations in the country, with the forex reserves falling to the lowest levels in eight years.
Despite repeated assurances from Finance Minister Ishaq Dar that the country will not default, the ground realities hardly support his claims.
Pakistan will not default: FinMin Ishaq Dar assures PSX investors
According to a weekly reminder on the statistics of Pakistan’s reserves, the total SBP-held reserves fell by $294.3 million to reach $5.821 billion — the lowest level of forex reserves since April 2014.
Alarm bells as Pakistan’s forex reserves fall to 8-year low
This contributes to the economic quagmire the country finds itself in, as the reserves are not enough to service its huge foreign debt.
A cut in the usage of imported fuel will certainly ease the pressure on depleting reserves as Pakistan’s major chunk of dollars goes into buying fuel.
