Rising poverty puts questions mark on priorities

Calamities, political uncertainty have crippled the economy at the expense of the common man

KARACHI:

If the economic slowdown due to the coronavirus was not enough, the recent monsoon flooding of Biblical proportions coupled with back-breaking inflation ensured that some residents of Karachi would no longer be able to make ends meet. Apart from professional beggars, the streets of the booming metropolis have seen a rise in the number of destitute individuals, who were pushed below the poverty line due to an increase in cost of living after back-to-back calamities like the coronavirus and monsoon floods hit the city.

Abdul Hafeez Pasha, economist and former federal finance minister, while commenting on the increase in poverty in the country, said, “the coronavirus had a negative impact on the entire world including Pakistan’s economy. Businesses were destroyed and millions became unemployed. However, just when we were trying to recover from that shock, the floods hit.”

These hits to the economy have resulted in a new social class, especially in Karachi, which does not want to beg but it has no source of income to meet its daily needs, as per Pasha. The economist was of the view that this new destitute class could not be called beggars. “Some of these people are just those whose expenses have spiraled out of control because inflation is at an all time high but their wages have not increased. Moreover, they have not received appropriate financial assistance from the government,” Pasha explained.

Nasir Mansoor, a long-term resident of the city, agrees that it is not professional beggars that have increased in the city.

“There is an increase in people outside mosques, markets, and parks asking for assistance as they are helpless due to the lack of employment opportunities and commodity prices going through the roof,” he opined. Mansoor further said that this was one of the reasons the crime rate had seen an upsurge because people are finding it increasingly hard to provide for their families. Amongst these people is Qudsia, who was sitting outside a local mosque with her children in tow. “My husband used to work for a private company but has been unemployed for the last 3 months. Now our children are out of school and we barely have anything to eat,” a visibly torn Qudsia narrated, adding that she was not begging but just asking for some help so that her family could stand on their feet again. Similarly, Khurshid, who was pacing around trying to get people to listen to his pleas, told the Express Tribune that he was just asking them to help him find employment. “I have been out of work for months, I just need assistance in finding a job.”

On the other hand, former adviser to the Ministry of Finance, Dr Ashfaq Hasan, believes that the people asking for help and poverty will only increase if there is no stability in the country. “Until the political situation in the country improves, the economy will remain unstable. Only in a politically and economically stable country can we create more employment opportunities,” Dr Hasan opined.

Whereas, Pasha, the economist, suggested that the government should immediately introduce a 40 to 50 per cent discount package on utility items such as flour, oil, pulses, and other food items. “Furthermore, the tax system should be reformed and the elite class should be made to pay more so that the revenue of the government increases. If the government does not pay attention to these problems immediately, poverty will increase further,” Pasha cautioned while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2022.