Poor governance increasing troubles for low income households

LAHORE: Citizens are bracing for the hardships they expect to encounter in the coming months in Pakistan, but the government seems to be continuing in an indeterminate state, with nothing being done to control the price hikes through better governance.

The measures taken by the present regime in the last two months have already started hurting the households that have no clue how to balance their household budgets. This, however, is just the beginning, as most of the current impact on prices relates to the substantial devaluation of rupee.

Price of gas has been increased, but the impact of this hike would be felt in the October bills. The PTI-led government is all set to increase the electricity rates and the prices of petroleum products as well.

Import duties on numerous daily use items have also been increased by the economic managers. However, this would mostly impact the more affluent consumers, who have the capacity to tolerate the prices which would be doubly impacted by high dollar value and higher import duties.

The real problem is for the low income groups that would have to make compromises in their spending. With stagnant incomes, each low income household was already finding it difficult to make both ends meet.

Their first preference is to provide their family two square meals a day. Then comes shelter and utilities; followed by education and healthcare, and finally if possible recreation. In an open economy, it is not possible for the government to control the prices, and this principle applies world over. Ours however is not an open economy in the true sense because all open economies are properly regulated.

We lack prudent regulators and administrators. Our markets are plagued with adulterated food items, substandard daily use items and numerous fake products. When a poor consumer buys milk, he is not sure how much he is paying for adulteration. The grinded red chillies he buys may contain red brick powder.

The meat one buys contains a lot of water. There is an element of adulteration in most of the edibles. Then the illiterate are hoodwinked to buy fake branded products that are being supplied in packaging similar to the famous brand.

The weights and measures are substandard. Someone buying a kilogram of sugar or pulse may get 15 percent less than one kilo. This way consumer gets 70-80 percent of the product though they pay 100 percent of the market price. This loot could be stopped through better and accountable governance.

The past Punjab government installed a standard weighing machine at the gate of Ramazan Bazaars, where the consumers could check the quantity supplied by vendor. In case there was some difference, the government official apprehended the concerned vendor and banned his entry in the bazaar.

The provincial and district governments would be doing a great service to the poor if they could eliminate adulterated and fake goods from the market. The poor would get 10-20 percent more quantity of pure food.

When prices go up, the poor in an economy shift from quality food to low quality food. They cannot curtail the expenditure on shelter (changing a living place is cumbersome). If the resources fell short, they take their children out of school and ignore illnesses in the family.

Despite these facts, one naked fact is that they cannot reduce the prices of daily use items. The poor have some unavoidable expenses that strike almost all households. The top expense of almost every poor family is spent on preventing police accesses.

They cannot afford to even lodge a complaint with the police. Once they contact police, it starts minting money from them whether they are the accused or the complainant. This is an expense that the poor cannot avoid. Once they are entrapped, there is no escape without paying a heavy bribe. The best service to the poor would be to stop police accesses.