July 15, 2006	Saturday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 18, 1427

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RAWALPINDI, July 14: The appointment of price magistrates in each district as announced by Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub in his budget speech on June 5 is not in sight so far despite the beginning of the new financial year. The price magistrates were supposed to have complete authority to catch and punish profiteers and hoarders. As announced, these magistrates would be responsible for keeping unjustified increases in prices under check.

The government is yet to announce the necessary changes which it promised to bring in for the effective implementation of the price mechanism law.

The prices of all eatable items in the market are unstable and the price controlling committees at local level seem to have not been effective in checking profiteers and hoarders, who had been warned by Omar Ayub Khan that they would be dealt with very strictly by the government.

This correspondent spoke to Rawalpindi City District Nazim Raja Javed Akhlas on Friday to ascertain the appointment of the price magistrate for the Rawalpindi district.

Mr Akhlas said the Punjab government had sent its recommendations to the federal government for the appointment of price magistrates, and a decision to this effect was expected any time.

However, he said, the local price control committee under the aegis of the city district government was functioning and monitoring the prices of eatable items in the area. But the appointment of the price magistrate would definitely have positive impact on price controlling measures, he added.

Sources close to the district government told Dawn that the local price control committee had been shaken by the announcement regarding price magistrates and saw its future uncertain. Facing an uncertain situation, the price control committee seems not to be effective and as a result prices of commodities go unchecked, they said.

When asked for his comments on the delay in announcement by the federal government, Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) President Jalil Ahmed Malik differed with the government on the appointment of price magistrates, and said it would create harassment in the market.

He said an effective mechanism was definitely the need of the hour to control prices of kitchen items, but the government should involve the representation of chambers as well as local associations to make the mechanism workable.