Media watch: Rise in petrol prices and electricity tariffs

Media criticises the government for implementing such inflationary policies that are a burden on the people.


Ali Syed November 02, 2010

Media watch is a daily round-up of key articles featured on news websites, hand-picked by The Express Tribune web staff.

Price hike

While it appears the move is in line with the increase in international oil prices, the oil-pricing mechanism in use in Pakistan passes on disproportionate increases to consumers. The blame for this must lie with the government, which in the summer pledged to deregulate the price of petroleum products. It has not moved quickly enough to have the requisite legislation vetted by the concerned ministries and presented in parliament. (dawn.com)

Electricity and oil tariffs

Instead of blindly following the recipes of the international financial institutions for recovering the electricity deficit, the government should set its own house in order. It seems that the government is looking at only one side of the picture. It must also calculate the adverse impact of increases on the overall economy and ordinary citizens.  (dailytimes.com.pk)

Petrol shock

It is also not irrelevant that decreases in the international price of oil are not passed on to citizens quite as readily as increases are. Reductions come in paisas and increases in rupees – with consumers left to manage in whatever way they can as prices soar. (thenews.com.pk)

Inflationary measures

Agricultural products will have their prices raised not just because of transport costs, but also because diesel is used to fuel the tubewells through which the crops are irrigated. Already burdened heavily, the people of Pakistan will be further burdened because of this increase. The inflation in the economy can only be understood if the government simply does not care about the people, and how they make ends meet. (nation.com.pk)

POL price rise and government's performance

The government's argument that this inflation is imported because of our heavy dependence on imported petroleum products, ignores a major factor in raising domestic prices: the budget deficit that is again being financed by heavy borrowing from the State Bank of Pakistan - a reliance that the government had committed to ending as part of the IMF Stand-By Arrangement. (brecorder.com)

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