ACCORDING to press reports, the government has decided to ban the import of LNG by private companies and only Pakistan State Oil will import it.

This decision is against the government’s policy of privatisation and free market. Why does the government want to have monopoly of natural gas and LNG? The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) must take action to protect consumers’ right of choice.

The only possible reason seems to be that the government has a political and financial interest. It is now a fact that greater the government control, greater the corruption.

It is due to the government’s wrong policies that there is rampant corruption as a result of which a majority of Pakistanis are deprived of basic necessity of life, which is the responsibility of the state to provide its citizens.

Good governance demands that the government’s role should be of a neutral regulator and it should protect the rights of people. It is not the government’s job to manage businesses.

The government should allow the private sector to play its role freely.

Tasaduq Hussain

Lahore

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play