KARACHI: Chairman Businessmen Group (BMG) Zubair Motiwala and President Karachi Chamber of Commerce Industry (KCCI) Iftikhar Ahmed Sheikh, on Monday, appreciated the substantial reduction in petroleum price by Rs40 per liter, saying this was the right decision taken due to decline in global market and improvement in rupee value against the dollar.
They said that it would provide some relief to the masses and the business community in the current era of inflation, besides having a positive impact on the economy.
In a joint statement issued, Chairman BMG and President KCCI said that this was the second consecutive slash in petroleum rates, which would certainly help in bringing down the inflation to some extent; however, effective price control mechanisms and strict implementation of government rates of different household products must be ensured with a view to provide relief to inflation-hit poor masses.
Chairman BMG Zubair Motiwala expressed hope that the Caretaker government would also take steps to reduce the power tariffs and devise effective strategies for dealing with the gas load shedding and low gas pressure being suffered by the industries located in all seven industrial town zones of Karachi.
He said that the gas supply situation is worsening day by day and it has become nearly impossible for the industrialists to smoothly carry out production operations and meet the export targets. Measures have to be taken on a war footing basis so that the wheels of industries keep on spinning.
Motiwala said that KE’s sales to industries have dropped by 9.5% in the last three months since the electricity tariff began increasing. The concerned ministries and the bureaucracy are adopting the easiest way to abide by the IMF commitment to control circular debt. In this regard, they go for raising the energy prices, which is not a wise move as there are many other possibilities like reducing thefts and technical line losses, etc.
He said that along with a review of deals with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) with regards to idle capacity charges in light of the appreciating dollar, which was hovering at nearly Rs100 at the time of these agreements but was now at about Rs280, indicating a huge difference of about 200%. These and several other steps should be taken before penalizing the consumers.
President KCCI Iftikhar Ahmed Sheikh pointed out that the reduction in petroleum prices would reduce the production cost, which would ultimately extend a direct benefit to the people.
He said that the industrial sector would definitely benefit from the reduction in POL rates, mainly as fuel and electricity are regarded as the lifeline of any economy and play a key role in the socio-economic development of a country.
President KCCI Calls for Tariff Cut in Inter-city Transportation
He further said that tariffs on Inter-city transportation must also be reduced, which are immediately raised whenever POL prices go up but meagerly reduced when the rates go down.
P R E S S R E L E A S E
PR-/07Rabi ul Awwal 29, 1445 A.H.
Date: October 16, 2023KCCI welcomes cut in POL prices, hopes to see similar cut in electricity tariff pic.twitter.com/PPs8y1vjPi
— Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (@kcci_official) October 16, 2023
