Because of approval of the power regulator’s request to hike the average tariff by up to 7.5 rupees per unit, consumers find themselves struggling for breathing space.
This unexpected offensive has come at a time when extraordinary inflation had turned everyday routine into a hard-fought fight for existence. Society is fast running out of options for how to put food on their table or to keep the roof over their heads.
With the new school year opening, parents are facing difficulty in how to provide for their children’s education and what sacrifices they need to make. Wedged between the IMF deal and developing discontent among the people, the choices for the caretaker set-up are limited.
The disaster over extremely rated electricity shows a basic problem that has been aggravated by faulty policies pursued by succeeding governments.
The manifold taxes and surcharges included in the electricity bills are nothing less than a shakedown by a state powerless to collect taxes from the politically powerful landed and business classes. The burden has moved to the already overtaxed middle and lower middle classes.
The unrestricted anger over swollen electricity bills is just an indicator of a much abysmal issue. The growing price of living has pushed millions of more people below the poverty line and enormously enlarged the grades of the jobless. The deteriorating state of the economy and mounting political unpredictability have also put our national security at risk.
As our dear homeland is facing terrible energy riots that are bound to get worse before the beginning of winter, some sad truths must we face.
Of course, we must act in accordance with what the IMF has asked us to do. If we were to forget the IMF, the fact of the matter remains that we produce and distribute electricity at too high a cost to sell it cheaply. If we do not correct that condition, things are only going to get worse.
Society already plagued by the wretchedness of inflation, now has to grapple with electricity bills that set up a vast part of family incomes. It is not possible for them to pay the amounts in their electricity bills.
Although there is no imaginable solution to the crisis, the government would do well to announce that the whole cabinet and senior civil service would now have to pay their electricity bills in full.
A big reason our bills are so high is due to the taxes levied on the units. The complete revenue machine of the federal government collects more than a trillion rupees through absolutely no effort of their own, from the electricity bills. This shows the horrible reluctance of the elite class to pay their due share of taxes.
More than a few people committed suicide and some sold jewelry and household items out of frustration and heartache because their monthly income was inadequate to pay off electricity bills what to say about other home expenditures ranging from food staples to gas bills, and education fees to healthcare budget?
Interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar summoned an emergency meeting to work on what relief the government can provide to the common person. It is ready to stop free electricity to WAPDA employees; however, the buck should not stop with WAPDA employees and take stock of all facilities to government workers at the expense of those they are supposed to serve.
The government must realize that its duty is to stand by people and it must not act as a business entity that blindly transfers the vicissitudes of the market onto consumers. The government must not blindly follow the policy prescriptions of lending agencies and subscribe to their conditions.
