New govt urged to focus on good governance

Islamabad : Will a 20-kilogram ‘Atta’ bag be available at Rs790 here in open market shops, 1-liter milk at Rs80, 1-kilogram mutton at Rs800, beef at Rs450, chicken meat at Rs170 and one-litre of petrol at Rs68 because all these items were easily available in 2018 when PMLN government under the then prime minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was in power, people belonging to different walks of life pondered? They are hoping to turn back to the era of 2018 when the common man was leading an easy life as compared to 2024.

The era of 2018 can be turned back with good governance otherwise, corrupt officers as per routine will work for profiteers and hoarders to loot the public with both hands, the residents of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad told ‘The News’ here on Saturday. 

Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif in her speeches again and again has been telling the people development process will resume in 2018 when it was stopped.

In 2018, people were facing only a 4 per cent inflation ratio but now in 2024, people are facing an over 40 per cent inflation ratio.

‘The News’ collected information from different government departments that in 2018 when Nawaz Sharif was prime minister, a 20-kilogram ‘atta’ bag was available at Rs790 here in open market shops, 1-liter milk at Rs80, 1-kilogram mutton at Rs800, beef at Rs450, chicken meat at Rs170 and one litre petrol was selling at Rs68.

Similarly, 1 kilogram ghee was available at Rs160, potatoes were available at Rs10 to Rs15, onion at Rs20, ginger at Rs30, garlic at Rs30, best quality rice was selling at Rs120 to Rs140, sugar at Rs53, 1 kilogram red chili at Rs200, 1-kilogram yogurt at Rs90, all pulses and vegetables were sold at controlled prices. A ‘roti’ was available at Rs5 and ‘Naan’ at Rs7. It was due to strong management and good governance.

In the present scenario, profiteers and hoarders are continuously looting the public and selling all items at exorbitant prices. No doubt, previous so-called governments have broken the back of the common man due to their wrong and impractical decisions. But, profiteers and hoarders have contributed a lot to ever-increasing inflation in open markets shops. In 2018 when Nawaz Sharif was PM people were paying electricity and gas bills easily. The electricity and gas tariff was affordable at that time.

There is a bulk of wheat in all stores. All stores are packed with wheat while maximum wheat was going to be out dated now but people were buying 20-kilogram ‘atta’ bags at Rs3000 to Rs3200.

The residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad said that they were ready to fully cooperate with the the present government but the present government should appoint honest officers in all departments. “We are facing such kind of famine-like situation due to bad governance and corrupt officers in all government departments,” the residents bemoaned. The situation has reached to such a level that if government increases Rs10, profiteers and hoarders increase Rs50 and if government increase Rs50 and profiteers and hoarders increase Rs200 on an item, people said. Shakir Hussain, a senior citizen said that a ‘Price Control Mechanism’ was needed rather than a poor part-time mechanism. The government should strictly monitor the officers as to what were they doing, he advised. The Punjab government should introduce a separate force of ‘Price Control’ in the open market.

Dr Azhar, a citizen said that the government should flout subsidised items here in the open market rather than in utility stores in Ramazan. The USC was taking maximum money but not providing enough relief to the public, he said. Uzma Irfan, a housewife said that people faced the worst kind of mismanagement and bad governance for over five years. It seems that there is no government writ all around the country. Now, we are hoping for good governance and honest officers because we could control inflation and corruption through honest officers and good governance, she said.