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| April 14, 2002 | Sunday | Muharram 30, 1423 |
President advised not to increase prices
ISLAMABAD, April 13: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has been advised by his well wishers in the government “not” to allow increase in the prices of various utilities, especially petroleum and electricity, to ensure winning the referendum being held on April 30.
Official sources told Dawn here the other day that the ministry of petroleum was expecting certain increase in the oil prices due to their current upward trend in the international market.
The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has already filed a petition in the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) for increasing electricity tariff.
“The prices of gas had earlier been revised upward and more expected increase in various utilities will not go well to attract people for positive vote in the referendum,” a senior official said.
When contacted, he said the President had been advised that it was not the time to allow any increase in the prices of utilities and that all the ministries concerned should be directed to wait for sometime to have any upward revision in the prices of any utilities.
The sources said the issue of giving support prices for four major crops had been raised with the President through a letter by his advisor on Food and Agriculture Shafi Niaz.
In his letter, Mr Niaz quoted Sindh Governor Mohammedmian soomro as having said that support prices for various crops could not be offered.
He said it was the violation of the President’s decision that cotton, rice, wheat and sugarcane would have the support prices to benefit the farmers. He asked the President whether he had withdrawn his earlier decision of extending support prices for the four crops and if that was the case, then the issue should be formally notified to remove the confusion.
Instead of giving the support prices as had been announced, farmers were being asked to sell their agricultural produce on indicative prices, specially for sugarcane, he added.
The sources said the majority of the people living in the rural areas were frustrated for not getting the support prices for their crops. They added that under those circumstances, voters in the rural areas should not be expected to vote for President Musharraf and that they needed to be lured by offering them various concessions.
The sources said the President would soon be presiding over a high-level meeting to mainly discuss the issue of the prices with a view to offering some relief to the common man.
“Since the budget is also coming, may be next month, it is difficult to offer certain relief to the people,” said a finance ministry official.
He said the government was not contemplating new taxes in the new budget in order to avoid burdening the people. “But to offer them some relief in terms of reducing prices of utilities or increasing the salaries of government employees is not possible in the new budget”, he added.
“According to various reports some published and some unpublished, Rs800 million to Rs1 billion will be spent on referendum and it is difficult for us to make available that unanticipated money.”
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