Call to rein in mills owner MPs

LAHORE
Inflation will be controlled only when the parliamentarians who owned flour, sugar and fertilizers mills stop profiteering.

This was stated by the participants in Jang Economic Session on ‘How to Ensure Food Items to Public at Cheaper Rates’ here on Tuesday. The panelists were Dr Khawaja Amjad Saeed, Rabia Sultan, Ali Raza Gardazi, Huma Aziz, Rao Akram and Farah Naz while the session was hosted by Sikindar Hameed Lodhi and Intikhab Tariq.

Dr Saeed said the government should revise petroleum products prices after every four months. He said the inflation in food prices in the country was at 9.9 percent while it was 8.3 percent in Bangladesh. He said the provincial government did not take sufficient steps to control inflation after devolution of power through the 18th Constitutional Amendment. He suggested establishment of Rescue Price Index and Shelter Policy through which staple food prices should be frozen for five years and cheap housing facilities might be provided to the public. He said the private sector generated employment opportunities and not the government so it should be facilitated.

Rabia Sultan said that in Pakistan, quality of food was compromised for reducing prices. She said subsidy should be given only to the needy while across the board subsidy also benefited the posh localities too. She said the government controlled prices only during Ramazan, leaving the public at the mercy of profiteer’s for the rest of the year. She called increase in domestic edible oils production to reduce its import. Ali Raza Gardazi said successive governments failed to control inflation while it had become a serious global problem across the world. He said after the WTO regime, investors had established cartels which had created extortion opportunities for the capitalists.

Huma Aziz said poverty was increasing every passing day while the poor were getting the poorest which was pushing crime rate up. She said the ruling elite owned edibles production factories and pushed the prices upward by creating artificial shortage after which the government took steps for mere eyewash to reduce the prices slightly.

Rao Akram said no institution was established to control edibles prices as the rulers of sugar, ghee, flour and other mills were elected representatives who maneuvered every law for their own benefit. He said the Punjab government had taken wrong steps to control prices by harassing small shopkeepers but not taking action against hoarders.

Farah Naz said if the rulers performed their duties amicably, every crisis could be controlled. She said the inflation crisis was the result of bad governance.

Posted in: Lahore