The trade and industry has sharply reacted over the audit report by Asian Development Bank (ADB) claiming that electricity in Pakistan would get dearer by 43 percent due to Rental Power Plants (RPPs).
In a statement Patron In-chief, Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (Kati) S M Muneer, Chairman, Razzak Hashim Paracha and Vice Chairmen, Amjadullah Khan and Najmul Arfeen demanded of the government to clarify the ADB claim as if it would be true than no consumer would be able to pay the electricity bill in the country.
They said that government should explain whether the industry would be exempted from any such tariff increase due to the expensive deals with the RPPs or it would be given subsidies in some shape as no industry could be run at this huge raise in power tariff.
"We are already become un-competitive in global market as nowhere in the world industry is paying such an exorbitant price for electricity", says Paracha. He said that in response to the ADB's report published in the press and only Pepco has issued a vague clarification saying that there is no audit report released by ADB as yet as it is expected in 10 days.
He said that Minister for Water and Power, Raja Pervez Ashraf had been denying any blanket increase in power tariff due to RPPs but the foreign donors' report is denying all his claims. He again demanded of the government to immediately explain the real situation to the nation as no one in the country would bear this massive increase in utilities prices in future.
He warned the government that industry is already closing down at a mass scale due to the frequent increases in power and gas tariffs. He said trade and industry in general has opined that it seemed that present democratic government has no specific agenda or programme for the economic prosperity of the country as it has left the nation on the mercy of foreign exploiters like IMF and World Bank.-PR
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