Murtaza Mughal, President of Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW), said on Sunday that the business community’s demand to reduce the interest rate is unjustified, as it will weaken the rupee and trigger inflation. He said an interest rate cut would allow the government to start unnecessary expenditures that are not required at this point.
Murtaza Mughal said today that electricity and gas prices have troubled the country. People are going bankrupt while factories are closing down. Many factories are running at half their production capacity; therefore, the demand to reduce the electricity and gas tariff is justified, but getting approval from the IMF will be impossible. He said that increasing the tax net, bringing the non-tax-paying sectors into the tax net, and amending the NFC award have become necessary to save the country. Restructuring of local and foreign debt has also become essential. Still, caution is needed in this regard so that it does not hurt the market, he cautioned.
Murtaza Mughal said the federal government is considering handing over the electricity distribution companies to the provinces. How will the provinces run these companies when the federal government cannot?
It would be better to sell these companies because the private sector would run them efficiently. He noted that bill-paying consumers must bear the burden of loss-making discos, tantamount to encouraging corruption and power theft.
He said the people of the same area should also bear the burden of losses caused by electricity theft, and not the people of other regions should be punished for a crime they never committed.
Dr. Mughal said climate change has become routine; therefore, the entire process must be reset to address the issue.
Regrettably, throughout the past two or three election cycles, successive governments have paid little more than lip service to climate change and developed a coherent policy to mitigate its harmful effects. It is equally unacceptable that provincial disaster management agencies are constantly behind the times despite having a full year and substantial funding to prepare for yearly rains.
When the civil machinery fails to clear roads and remove floodwater, as it does every time, the military is compelled to intervene and demonstrate the proper procedure. We need an appropriate long-term and long-term plan, as Pakistan is among the top nations facing the most direct effects of climate change and global warming.
He said we need an appropriate short-term response mechanism for the annual rain overflow, adding that politicians must set aside their competing agendas and act in the nation’s and its citizens’ interests. Everything that is occurring around us is completely expected. Unfortunately, none of it has gotten any attention because our political leaders have been too preoccupied with lusting for power.