Business community has feared enormous closure of industries, increasing unemployment and decline in the revenue of government due to negative effect of recent increase in power and gas tariff. They were of the view that the industry could not swallow such a steep rise in power and gas tariffs and it was bound to collapse.
They said that electricity tariff in Pakistan was already very high as compared to regional countries including Bangladesh, China, India and Sri Lanka etc and recent increase in it would lead to the closure of more industrial units rendering thousands of workers jobless.
The industrialists said that they had already warned that the un-proportioned and unrealistic increases in gas and power tariffs would result in mass scale shut-down of industries which has begun as over 300 textile units have closed down in Korangi industrial area alone as it was not possible to compete due to expensive power and gas tariff in the region.
They also affirmed that the country's economic sovereignty has been placed at risk by the government's frequent raise in gas and power tariffs on the demands of IMF and World Bank. They said that it is beyond understanding that on one pretext, the government contemplates to attain the targets for nominal growth of 2.5 percent and on the other pretext its inconsiderate and austere decisions to increase utility tariffs have already penalised the industry and posed terrible threats for achieving the same.
"How can government make revenue and meet up the targets if it strangulates the industry by unabated and frequent increases in gas and power tariffs," they questioned. Chairman Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (Kati), Razzak Hashim Paracha said that it is height of ambiguity that Nepra has allowed power companies to charge the consumers with higher tariff from retrospective affect.
"It is just like the bread one has eaten long before and the baker runs to your house asking to pay more for the bread you consumed months ago," Paracha said terming it just ridiculous. He said nowhere in the world, the consumers are being extorted like the way Nepra is allowing power companies to exploit. He pointed out that Interior Minister, Rehman Malik has termed the recent wave of lawlessness and terrorism as a consequent of poverty and unemployment in the country.
He said that this should be the eye opener and government should not create further unemployment by raising utilities' prices. The President, Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), Mian Zahid Husain while strongly condemning the Nepra and Ogra decisions, said that these regulatory authorities have never made any decision in favour of the nation and the country. He said that government should now wake up and does not compel more industry to close down.
Former President FPCCI and leader of business community, S M Muneer and Vice Chairmen Kati, Amjadullah Khan and Najmul Arfeen said in a statement that it seems that government has no priority to the industry which is life-line of employment and earning revenue to the government.
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