Lawless profiteering

LAHORE: The miseries that people in general face in daily life are not only due to the incompetence of the government alone, but also the culture of ignoring the law when it benefits anyone has multiplied their difficulties.

Consumer resistance against high prices is completely absent in Pakistan. We see prices of even perishable items shooting up overnight; a little resistance of a day or two from consumers could force the sellers to lower the rates. But in Pakistan, instead of resistance, the consumers rush to buy much more than their needs. This attitude puts further pressure on the prices.

Consumer resistance does force businesses to lower their prices. The car assemblers in Pakistan had been regularly increasing the rates of their different variants, citing the devaluation of the rupee and high inflation. Their sales dropped drastically. In the meantime, the government slapped further levies on locally manufactured cars.

The expectation was that the car prices would further increase. But instead, many assemblers lowered the prices of their variants, even those that were slapped with higher levies. They absorbed the new taxes and cut their margins to stay relevant in the car market.

We experience in our daily routine that when there is heavy rain, the fares of public transport shoot up beyond reason. A day before Eid, the intercity fares shoot up by 100 percent or above.

This shows that the mentality to make unjustified money is not restricted to businessmen alone. Anyone that gets a chance grabs it. In the case of Eid, people wishing to enjoy the festival with their dear ones have no option but to pay whatever fare is demanded.

Worldwide, where traffic signals are installed, there is no need to post traffic police officials. In Pakistan, traffic police are posted at every traffic signal. Still, signal violations are routine in Pakistan. During the night when signals are still operative on some important roads, the drivers break signals regularly. Breaking the one-way rule during the day is a norm at many busy roads, even during the day, but during the night it becomes a norm. Eighty percent of traffic accidents and 90 percent of traffic congestion are because of traffic violations. Traffic congestion is the main cause of air pollution that has made breathing in the cities unhealthy. Doctors say the recent surge in respiratory problems among the citizens is due to the toxic air. This has immensely added to the health expenditure.

It is not that government regulators are helpless in all violations of law. It is unbelievable that those who operate businesses without proper authority, or systematically violate the fundamentals of business principles and ethics, or construct buildings trampling down relevant codes and regulations can do so unilaterally or without the knowledge and involvement of a section of the relevant officials of the regulatory or oversight bodies. Non-compliance is as much a source of profit for illegal business entities as it is a source of illegal income for the officials who let them bypass the rules.

This partnership acts like a cartel, as through this arrangement, the rogue elements in business, politics, and public service ensure their share in the loot.