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The financial planning of Pakistan at a time when the country is grappling with a massive economic crisis, clearly shows that the federal government is "least bothered" with the plight of the people and just wants to take the easy route and enjoy the ride for however long it is in power, read an editorial in Dawn newspaper published on Tuesday.
Notably, not much long ago, the faces in the government would lament a single rupee's increase in the per-unit price of electricity. Massive protests threatening to send the government packing used to be held across the country. "Oh, how the times have changed. Days after dropping tax bombs that will further eviscerate the struggling masses, the authorities have announced that not only will they be taking more money out of the paychecks of salaried individuals, they will also be squeezing whatever is left through significantly jacked-up electricity bills," the editorial read. Citing news reports, it said that Nepra (National Electric Power Regulatory Authority) has hiked the uniform national tariff for the base price of electricity by almost 20 per cent to hand over electricity distribution companies almost half a trillion rupees more over the next fiscal year. The average base tariff for a single unit of electricity, which was Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 27.78 in the outgoing year, will be PKR 35.50 from July 1. On top of this, various duties, taxes, and surcharges, as well as fuel and tariff adjustments, will be levied, forcing ordinary citizens to pay through their noses, not just for the fuel and operation and maintenance costs involved in generating electricity, but also for capacity charges that past governments have promised power generation companies, as well as the theft and transmission losses that distribution companies have shown a complete unwillingness to mitigate for many years. The average middle-class bill-paying customer will be forking out between PKR 65-72 for each unit of electricity they use in a month. Meanwhile, the federal government will present this as an 'achievement' in front of the IMF to ask for even more loans to keep a clearly failing system running for a few years longer, the editorial added. However, at the same time, the government has announced a PKR 10.69 per unit 'relief' for the industrial sector to 'make it competitive'. There can probably be no better example of crony capitalism. While the average salaried individual is finding it difficult to meet their ends on a shrinking real wage amidst month after month of unceasing, unchecked inflation, it is the big industries who get a break in the form of cheaper electricity so that they can pad up their profits while paying little back to the country in the form of taxes. "That the government is failing the people seems like an understatement. It is clearly least bothered by their plight. Its financial planning shows that it has no interest in going after those who dodge their dues; it just wants to take the easy route and enjoy the ride for however long it is in power," the Dawn editorial stated. (ANI)
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