The government has made every effort to control prices but the results have been negative. In a society where we have no principles code of conduct to play fair in business.
Where opportunists try and make profit ignoring all ethics of business, where there are no laws to nab the defaulters, where the government machinery required to enforce price control measures is weak, all these contribute to an atmosphere where the businessmen are skimming the poor masses.
The rich is getting richer and the poor the poorer. The mechanism to control prices exists but it lacks implementation because those required to do so are corrupt.
For price control there has to be a mechanism placed on the ground. We need to control prices at three tiers of government the Federal government, the provincial government and the district government. Each mechanism must be responsible to its higher echelon on two counts: firstly monitoring and secondly accountability.
The price control cell should monitor prices in the market which should conform to the prices printed on the package. In case of default legal action should be taken on the manufacturer and the retailer who sells the product at a higher price. The laws should impose penalty implemented.
This mechanism if implemented honestly will restrain profiteers to increase their prices. Existing laws are too soft on the manufacturers and hence this disparity in prices.
Once the monitoring system has been placed on the ground, the next emphasis should be on Accountability.
(a) firstly those who are made responsible to implement laws are made accountable for their actions. A fear of the law has to be created in the minds of those who implement the laws and those who have to abide by the laws. This should be done by fear of punishment in the way of fines and imprisonments. In our country there is no concept of white-collared crimes.
They get scot-free and commit the same offence time after time as they are not made accountable. The entire blame of responsibility is thrust on lower management/staff which is not fair. The Quality Control mechanism should work hand and gloves with the Price Control Cell to maintain the quality of the product at all times.
(b) Recruitment for government posts should be on merit. The district and the provincial governments are plagued with corrupt practices where favouritism, nepotism and corruption form the basis on which recruitment for vacant posts is relied upon.
There is no mechanism to check such irregularities. The civil courts should be thrown open to those aggrieved parties who feel that injustice has been done to them. This will act as a deterrent for those who indulge in such practices.
Once such a mechanism is entrenched at the district, provincial and federal levels prices will come under control for those items that are manufactured. Then there are other areas where a reliable system to control daily consumer items are to be checked.
The idea of Price Control Magistrate at the district/tehsil level can resolve issues of prices. Honest dedicated magisterial staff be inducted and assigned the task. Their performance be judged at the district level by the DCO and not the Nazim who is a political figure.
The government should at the national level look at its policy of plugging the holes where leaks appear. Its policy of giving subsidies in areas where shortfalls are created by the vested interests should be restricted. Subsidies are no permanent solutions. Take the case of daals where the government has declared to subsidise. We have to crack on the profiteers at the source.
The government should fix prices at the time of harvesting the crop. The maximum price be fixed for a crop at that time and hoarding be made a punishable offence. This will create a regular flow of the product with little variation in price.
The system should be monitored by the Price Control Magistrates at the Tehsil/district level. Local hoarders be checked and ruthlessly punished with fines/imprisonments. Take the case of sugar. The government had to adopt a soft stance for defaulters who were Ministers in the federal/provincial government. It has given an impression to the public that the Ministers in the government are immune from the laws of the land.
It is the poor where the noose is tightened around his neck which gets vulnerable. The government took preventive measures to control the price of sugar. No punitive action was taken against the defaulters who stood exposed to the public.
The governments plea that sugar and daals will be made available at Utility Stores could falter. Firstly we see that sugar is not available at these stores as it disappears, from the point of loading to the point of unloading. It is a mystery! No one has been able to solve it and the poor are on the receiving end.
What we need instead of utility stores ration depots. These had worked in the earlier days of independence. Families were issued ration cards depending on the strength of the families. Selected items to be issued were rationed and the public made it a point to consume rations as issued to them.
There was no lavish use of these items as these were given in limited quantities. The government should plan to adopt rationing system. This will save our foreign exchange and the hide and seek game played by our ministers/bureaucrats. This needs to be given a due consideration by the government.
For survival we have to take strict measures against the hoarders and profiteers. In that lies our salvation if we want to avoid further complications.