ISLAMABAD: “It feels like scarcity of personal funds just worsens, year after year, after year and prices on essentials, fuel and energy keep rising each month. Should we cut ourselves open and sell our kidneys?” quipped local tandoor on recent news about further rise in electricity bills.

On February 21, 2023, it was confirmed that incoming rise in electricity bills beginning in March will recover payments on interest for loans taken for last three years. Total of Rs 76 billon is scheduled to be recovered up to Jun 2023.

How this acceptable public to pay interest on utility services. This will not sit right with religiously aligned but burden on average citizen will further increase what with skyrocketing prices on essential food items, petrol prices and its levies, rise in gas prices and expected FCAs due to internationally expensive fuel prices. Does government think that public will take this without resisting such measures?

Reportedly, Economic Coordination Committee gave ascent to directions and decision on May 6, 2022, to convert Rs 800 billion in debt stock to public debt which was supposed to be paid via sales of electricity units but due to inefficiencies, line and commercial losses of power sector, said funds are scheduled to be recovered from public.

Incumbent government is yet to correct distortions that last government left as it played with public’s sentiments and aspirations for fast economic growth without first creating revenue streams to fund expenditure for same. This surcharge on top of recovery of postponed FCAs from 2022 and additional rise in General Sales Tax to 18 percent.

More than 70 percent of today’s citizens cannot pay for even meal for family. Median incomes have dropped sharply and has contributed further to households falling below poverty line. This is an unfair and opaque process and requires government to come up with sustainable solution, guide public to make corrective choices concerning their energy bills, come down hard on those thieving from electricity lines and tax its golden calves or condemn them to living with single kidney, perhaps create an export market for same.

Published in The Daily National Courier, March, 20 2023

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