Staying on the high wire

ECC’s upcoming meeting will consider proposal to approve an increase of up to 26% in power tariff

The moment of truth is dawning for the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf as the country’s top policymaking body — the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet — grits its teeth and helps brace most if not all electricity consumers for free falling at about 120 mph or faster. That is perhaps the best way to describe the ECC’s upcoming meeting at which the proposal to approve an increase of up to 26% in power tariff for different categories of consumers is moved forward.

There is no point in squirming over the heat of the possibilities or further delaying the action as it had done earlier on the pretext of the Oct 14 by-elections. The time to bite the bullet is now because any attempt to bite it slowly or a little bit less will not spare us any pain. To begin with, sky-dives cannot be cushioned against the dangers present. But apart from that the PTI government has plenty more to fret about such as where and when will it get the courage to push ahead with its heavy reform agenda. Electricity tariff hikes present a perfect opportunity for a study of political courage. If truth be told, governments in Pakistan do not have a long history for measuring it — which is why the PTI would be treading on new ground. Such a unique opportunity for path-finding on a grand scale should aid and guide not inhibit its steps — at least we hope it will.

We should be more reconciled with the fact also that deeply unpopular decisions are required for Pakistan’s welfare and now is probably as a good time as any to take those measures. The new tariffs are going to hurt several segments of society. Our economic managers have made a conscious attempt not to penalise honest customers and recover losses from defaulters while bringing down power-sector losses to within levels permitted by the regulatory body. We should also expect the authorities take adequate measures to guard against any crippling or debilitating effect on the overall economy. This cannot be done without removing inefficiencies, plugging leakages and curbing graft.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2018.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.