“The Prime Minister has pledged yet again to bring down prices.”

“But does he know how.”

“Yes he does, he abuses all those involved – from those selling on bicycles or carts at prices above the market rate to shopkeepers to wholesalers to cartels to smugglers…”

“Ha, ha that’s a handful if I do so say myself.”

“Which sub-category do you belong to? A shopkeeper, a cart owner, a….”

“Does it matter – we are all thieves, big and small.”

“Unfortunately the bigger they are the less likely to make accounting mistakes that would land them in trouble.”

“Some hire bad accountants and…”

“Ha, ha…indeed, anyway The Khan has warned all you guys not to engage in these anti-social, illegal activities and…”

“From where I am sitting these are social activities – I mean unless I engage with my clients I don’t make money and that engagement is of a social nature. Now The Khan needs to engage more socially, go out to meet people, you know like Harun al Rashid in the twelfth century used to ……”

“Not possible with the security issues - besides do you have any idea how many meetings a day, high level that is, that The Khan chairs each day?”

“That’s funny.”

“What?”

“Why do you say high level, I mean surely what ever meeting the prime minister chairs becomes high level.”

“Right but there are children of a lesser god if you will, the forty plus cabinet members, who also chair meetings and may consider the meeting they chair as high level. For example I have it on good authority that someone stipulated in their contract that any meeting they chair be declared high level.”

“What about Sheikh Rashid?”

“He doesn’t care as long as he continues to get airtime.”

“Murad Saeed?”

“Nope doesn’t care, I reckon those who are not elected members of the cabinet, which means 20 at least, follow their trend setter.”

“Hmmm.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020