61 PERCENT HIKE IN POWER TARIFF WILL BRING FURTHER WOES
TO ALREADY HIT POOR MASSES – ICCI PRESIDENT

The 61 percent hike in power tariff will drop another bomb of inflation on already stressed poor people as well as on business and industry, said Muhammad Ijaz Abbasi, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry while reacting to some news items that National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has recommended up to 61 percent hike in electricity tariff for the distribution companies of WAPDA which will be applicable for all categories including residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors.

ICCI President said the poor masses as well as business and industry were already feeling the pinch of 16 percent raise in electricity price passed on to them with the withdrawal of GST exemption and this massive increase in power tariff, said to be the highest ever, would hit every segment of the country, especially the poor, as the prices of essentials would rise as a consequence of the higher tariff.

Muhammad Ijaz Abbasi said the government has already announced to eliminate subsidies, including those on oil and energy by June 2009 which will lead to increased prices for all products and the 61 percent increase will put unbearable burden on the society and commercial concerns. Therefore, he emphasized upon the government to review this spike in best public interest so that people could be spared of more miseries while business and industry could be saved from further destruction.

He said Pakistan is direly needs to enhance its exports through diversification to improve its depleting foreign exchange reserves which have gone down to below 10 billion dollars. But lamented that our exports are badly struggling in international market due to high production cost and this step will make our exportable products further uncompetitive by enormously raising cost of doing business.  He said our textile sector, the largest foreign exchange earner having 57  percent export share in total exports, is fighting hard to remain competitive due to high energy prices and this spike will bring more woes to the textile sector.

In the end, ICCI President said that Pakistan’s economy is in difficult times these days as all economic indicators are showing declining trend and urged upon the government to take remedial steps to steer the country out of the prevailing challenges instead spiking tariffs to make life more miserable for poor people and conditions tougher for business and industry.