Reform wreckers

LAHORE: The risk of reforms rolling back keeps the economic planning at bay, mostly because powerful business lobbies go to extreme lengths to have them undone so that they could make more undocumented money without having to pay taxes, duties, and spending on environmental, safety, health, etc.

Exporting sector is one example. This government withdrew the zero rating facility to the exporters and assured them timely refunds. This measure increased the government revenues from local sales that were nominal when zero rating was in vogue. At the same time government facilitated the exporters through power and gas subsidy and other incentives. As a result the exports constantly increased.

The withdrawal of zero rating has not impacted exports. There is no zero rating in Bangladesh and India as well. Still the exporters are grumbling. They want to go back to the unregulated ways where they could hide their local sales. After abolition of zero rating on textiles for instance the sales tax revenue has increased from few billion rupees to over Rs120 billion. The government is now in a position to provide subsidy on power and energy from this additional income.

Then there is a case of dirty cargo. Coal was earlier being handled through a dedicated terminal at Port Qasim as well as from a normal terminal at Karachi Port Trust. Coal dust was an unbearable environment hazard for the citizens of Karachi.

The Supreme Court through an order restricted the clearance of coal cargo through the dedicated terminal only. The problem was largely resolved but not completely. The coal importers preferred KPT as its charges were a little lower as outdated equipment and no arrangement to capture coal dust through sprinkling.

Now the coal imports have increased substantially. The companies importing coal are facing some delays in clearance at the dedicated terminal. The delays in clearance are much less than the delays faced by other cargoes.

The importers mostly cement manufacturers have appealed to the government to allow them to clear their dirty goods at KPT terminal. Legally this is not possible as the superior court has forbidden it.

The matter is to be taken by the federal cabinet to find a way out. This government has given huge concessions to electric vehicles in the name of environment that would otherwise benefit the most affluent class. The only concern is that the cement manufacturers belong to top most rung of that class. Let us see what wins out, environment or affluence.

Decanting of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinders is a highly hazardous practice. It has claimed numerous lives in the past. A recent such tragedy happened weeks back. Yet this practice continues unabated in all major cities of the country.

The decanters are more powerful than the regulators and operate without any fear. They mostly serve auto rickshaws by filling their substandard cylinders. Sub-standard cylinders are more dangerous than decanting. The cases of gas cylinders bursting in wagons and buses is a common occurrence. Each of these blasts takes lives and injures many. Yet the state is helpless in banning the use of substandard cylinders or decanting. The law is there but there is no will to implement. It is the will to implement a law or reform that matters. We cannot involve courts in all regulatory matters where the state is at fault and not the law.

Government leaves land around roads and in streets to facilitate the free movement of citizens and their vehicles. Parking spaces are provided outside all markets and shops.

However in most of our markets the parking space is encroached by either the shopkeepers or the vendors. It is very difficult even for the pedestrians to walk freely on the sidewalks. The city district governments are completely non-functional.

Well managed shopping malls are flourishing because they are not dependent on the state to maintain order in their premises. They have reserved parking space for the consumers. Shopkeepers operate within the limits of their shops. The malls are flooded with customers while the congested and encroached markets are littered with filth and few customers. In fact there are more sellers (shops plus encroachers) than the customers.

The state should see the already established markets survive by ensuring cleanliness and encroachment-free pathways. If we continue to ignore maintaining our markets these will ultimately become slums. It is an irony the shopkeepers operating in congested markets and losing share constantly are at the forefront of protest against documentation.