Shaukat Hayat
THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) continues with its intrusive posture that stirs the soul of the common man in the country. In the latest move, it has asked the Government to hike prices of gas and electricity for consumers, giving free hand to National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) and Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to decide on the prices. It is also urging the authorities for tax reforms and collection of more than Rs 1,000 billion in taxes during the first quarter of the current financial year.
There is every possibility that the Government would ultimately have to succumb before the pressure of the IMF and raise prices of both the electricity and gas. This is because the Government is keen to continue with the IMF package that was halted due to the situation arising out of Covid-19. However, it is also a foregone conclusion that such a move would put enormous additional burden on the masses. Prices of both electricity and gas are already on higher side and there is realization of this fact on part of the top leadership.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and his ministers have been giving assurances to bring down the tariff and provide relief to the consumers. There is also another aspect of the problem – the economy has started showing positive trends on reopening of different sectors after suspension of activities for months due to Coronavirus. Any increase in electricity and gas tariff would be counter-productive to growth and also consumers are not in a position to absorb the shock. Similarly, the pressure to collect more than Rs 1,000 billion in taxes would also mean aggressive policy for the purpose, which would not be advisable in the post-Covid-19 period.
The civilized circles of the society are unanimous on the point that for the economical development of any state of the world, the rule of law, zero tolerance of corruption and political stability are the key ingredients. In absence of a proper system of rule of law, the situations always go from bad to worse. During the last few decades, the upper class of our country has exerted negative impact upon the collective well of our society. Politics has become a source of income and to gain power with. Many scandals of corruption of the elite have been unearthed so far. Whenever the judiciary or intelligence agencies dared to ensure the rule of law, the ruling class started crying against and termed it a conspiracy of the secret hands. During the last few years the overall investment made in Pakistan in the shape of CPEC projects only. The investment of the foreign countries in our industrial and agricultural sectors is almost nil. The foreign investors are least interested to invest here. They have been scared by the negative attitude of our elite class.
On one hand the declining foreign investment is causing too much loss to our foreign exchange reserves while on the other hand the value of Pakistani products in international market is witnessing downward trend. These factors have slowed down the economic growth. The increasing population [bomb] has increased pressure on the economy. In order to decrease and minimize this pressure-effective strategy must be required in this regard. No doubt the CPEC has created a congenial atmosphere for mega developmental projects in the country — but in the absence of proper and effective strategy of the government, the future of our economic revival is still dependent on external hands.
—The writer is freelancer, based in Buner, KP
