CNG body divided over strike call

Sindh to keep pumps open despite call by apex body.

ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI:

The All Pakistan CNG Association’s strike call seems to be in jeopardy even before it got off the ground as the Sindh chapter decided to pull out on Tuesday night.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Sindh CNG Association Chairman Dr Zulfiqar Yousufani said most of the members of his association voted against the countrywide strike call in a meeting held in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

The current tax on CNG is about Rs141 per million British thermal units (mmbtu), or about Rs5 per kilogramme (kg) of CNG bought by the average consumer. The 2013 federal budget proposes more than doubling this amount to Rs300 per mmbtu, or about Rs10.65 per kg of CNG. The new tax would raise retail prices of CNG by about 6.4%, to about Rs94.35 per kg.

The association’s members, who stand at around 325, want to run a campaign to resist an increase of Rs15 per kg in CNG price from July 1 and not today (June 5). “We will consider all options including a long strike, if the government increases prices in July even after the protest campaign,” he added.

The All Pakistan CNG Association Chairman Ghiyas Paracha announced on Monday and confirmed on Tuesday that they will shut down CNG stations across the country for an indefinite period to force the government to withdraw its decision of increasing the tax rate.

The petroleum ministry in a statement termed the call uncalled for and unjustified. It clarified that no decision regarding imposition of levy has yet been taken, says the statement. Cess will be imposed in phases and on all sectors after due consultation with stakeholders, adds the statement.

CNG chairman hits back at industrialists

Reacting on advertisements published in newspapers by industrialists, All Pakistan CNG Association Chairman Ghiyas Paracha in a press conference refuted claims that the CNG sector consumes 500 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas and placed the actual consumption is 261 mmcfd.

“These industrialists have joined hands to save themselves and don’t care about the 3.5 million consumers that are getting cheap fuel, he said.

Pakistan toppled Brazil and Argentina to have the highest number of vehicles running on CNG in December 2008, according to International Association of Natural Gas Vehicles. Pakistan also holds the record for most number of CNG stations.

The government claimed to provide 500 mmcfd gas to the CNG sector but it is getting only 259 mmcfd gas due to overall gas shortage, Paracha added. The Minister for Petroleum Asim Hussain is misleading the government about the amount of gas supplied to the CNG sector, he claimed.

“The industrial forum comprising the textile industry, independent power producers, the fertiliser sector and Liquefied Petroleum Gas mafia are behind the conspiracy to demolish the CNG sector,” he said. “These industrials have alternate sources to keep their units alive we don’t,” he said. “We will issue a notice to them against misappropriation and also highlight some facts about how they are operating their industries,” Paracha added.

“The CNG industry is paying the highest price of gas at Rs889 per million cubic feet gas per day (mmcfd) whereas the fertiliser sector is paying Rs216 per mmbtu, industry Rs507 per mmbtu and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) Rs437 per mmbtu,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2012.