Gangrene bills

Protests triggered by inflated power costs necessitate the need to rethink tariff and budgeting

Supra-exorbitant electricity bills have come as a gangrene. People have started pouring in on the streets against the inflated tariff-laden bills, and a formal campaign on the part of civil society and traders is in the wings. The countrywide protests have come as a surprise, as people from all walks of life have joined hands and are crying foul at the very system in vogue that decides on the rationale of power tariff. This time around, it is not the common man that is upbeat in demurral but also the affluent who find themselves burdened under triple surcharged tariff, and are in a fix. This is an issue of civic importance and certainly cannot be brushed aside by authorities under assumptions of politicisation. The point is that the sustained escalation in tariff, accompanied with unexplainable taxes and surcharges, have come as an insult to people who are already hard-pressed, and genuinely not in a position to take such bitter pills anymore.

The intervention on the part of Caretaker Prime Minister, Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, is appreciated, and it is a good omen that he had called an emergent session to tackle the brewing crisis. It goes without saying that this issue will not die down with the passage of time, or with cosmetic piecemeal measures. The truth is that the bills are beyond logic of decency, and consecutive government(s) have used it as a ploy to absolve themselves by passing on the buck to the taxpayers and commoners. This is not going to be a piece of cake any more, and the authorities will have to react to it in good sense in order to avoid a law and order situation. Threatening people with disconnections, in case of non-payment, is not an option at all, as the volume of defiance will be tangible across the country.

It’s high time to do away with the dichotomy of enabling the elite and aristocrats to consume free electricity at the cost of the taxpayers, and penalise the poor souls for no fault of their own. This regime of tariff and budgeting must go.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2023.

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