Pinching inflation is dwarfing an unending enigma. While the CPI estimates prove that escalation of prices are there to stay, pestering political instability even after general elections in the wake of recessionary trends and a haunting tough deal with IMF have kept consumers on tenterhooks. Inflation hovers around 38 per cent for the last many months, and despite a dip in February to a corresponding rollover of 28.3 per cent, prices of essential commodities are in the skyrocketing range, coupled with a rising energy tariff.
Petroleum and domestic gas prices have been increased once again, and there are plans to raise them further under IMF pressure. This is unbecoming for any kind of relief that the masses are expecting, especially during the holy month of Ramazan. It is also highly unfortunate that hoarders, black marketers and opportunists have a field day in fleecing the public on such auspicious occasions, as compromised district administrations look the other way round. This tendency, slipping into a criminal silence, must be checked in the larger public interest, and prices of grains, perishable items and edible oil be depreciated instantly, and their ensured accessible provision.
In a similar tone, the irrational rise in first-time deposit for electricity connection from Rs1,100 to Rs22,000 is draconian, to say the least. It is not only untenable but is also devoid of logic to keep on penalising the citizens for no fault of their own and make them pay for inherent institutional deficiencies and corruption. The nation deserves procedural simplicity and instant access to utilities and, likewise, their modest tariff.
The new political dispensation must take it on a priority to crack down on the upward trend of prices, and ensure that they are in the reach of the majority sizzling under the poverty line. Similarly, subsidies on food grains, fruits and vegetables must see a new vitality of political resolve to make life easy for all.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2024.
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