Rising prices, losing battle

AN angry housewife asked partly in futility and partly in rage whether the traders who raised prices in Ramazan as a matter of right and routine were blind to the piety and the purity of the holy month and whether these traders were actually observing the spirit of Islam.

But on the other hand an equally agitated bespectacled shopkeeper argued that he too had a family and children to look after in this very month, and that this was the time when he could make some money.

Of course there are arguments and counter arguments on all sides, to this familiar phenomena of rising prices in Ramazan, not just in the case of foodstuffs, but to just about everything that is high in demand in this period, where consumerism and extravagance are in sharp contrast to what the spiritual values of Ramazan call for.

For as long as one’s memory can be stretched it has been a long struggle by successive administrations to rein in traders at all levels, in this city, to be reasonable in their price structure. But given the failure of officialdom, historically speaking, and taking into account the plummeting of ethical values in society, prices have risen sharply, and defiantly. And now official sources concede that it just isn’t possible to manage the problem due to the enlarged scale on which it exists. Not just is it apparently a challenge in terms of rules, or law, or procedure, but there is also missing or unavailable the sheer manpower to control traders in a city that has grown beyond one’s compehension.

What has made matters still more frustrating is that while newspapers, every time Ramazan begins focus (amidst familiar sermons and reminders on the virtues of being honest and pious) on the problem of prices having gradually risen, there is no real consumer body, that acts as a propelling force. No public opinion platform, nor consumer resistance, no organisation that really seeks to fight for citizen’s causes. None of the earnestness of consistent approach, and the militancy of the dogged that would go hand in hand with official agencies that do make some patchy effort sometimes.

But this time evidently the picture is different. While newspapers have in the very first week of Ramazan made their contribution towards a protest about an unchecked rise in prices of items that are sought at this time the Sindh government has also taken a backseat, and handed over responsibility to the City government. But the town nazims and their teams have been unable to check the price hike, reportedly because they are powerless, and even the system of district magistrates and SDMs doesn’t exist any more.

Of course the season began with some pomp, some style as it were. Probably just a public relations exercise in what is regarded by perceptive citizens as a losing battle against the traders, a community too well-organised for both the citizens and officialdom. They have the resources, and are holding power. There came the announcement that price control committee had been formed. This was announced by the city Nazim and its details were impressive! The results: nothing. There was another news report which informed the disbelieving citizens that judicial powers had been delegated to judicial magistrates for a month to enforce price control. The powers were given under the Weights and Measures Act, Ehtaram-e-Ramazan Ordinance 1981, West Pakistan Food Grains Prohibition Order 1958, West Pakistan wheat, atta, Maize, Rice, and Sugar distribution Order 1967, and Foodstuffs Control Act 1958.

One person that I discussed the price hike in Ramazan with, laughed sarcastically to say that it should be noted that all the emphasis is on food and food alone. What about the price hike in other items that takes place in this month. It is the general trend of prices rising in this holy month that is disturbing. It conflicts with the temper of the times (of Ramzan). What about the prices that are raised (and quality lowered) in ready-made garments, shoes, toiletries, and household items, not to mention the brazen manner in which individuals ask for charity and/or ‘Eidi’ as the Eidul Fitr comes close.

This person was of the view that there should be no effort made to mislead the people that serious attempts are being made to control prices. It is a waste of time and resource of the government (and now city government), and in the long run it is the concept of credibility that suffers further. As it is, the citizen is distrustful of authority and promise when it comes to matters official. Betrayal on this count and others is well known. So while domestic budgets are further strained, and Iftar budgets stand reduced to the point of being rendered absurd and ridiculous when it comes to real purchasing power, there is the context of advertisements in the print media, besides promotional flyers and leaflets, and hoardings in the city, that invite consumers to expensive Iftari and Sehri options, at discounted prices, which often carry hidden costs.

Of course there is lots of Zakat given in this month, and there is plenty of charity and generous sharing but somewhat ironically it is in Ramazan that not only do beggars flock to Karachi from all over the country, but there is a contrast between the rich and the poor in so many ways, I have frequently heard people say that they wonder how Karachiites get the money to spend in the expensive shopping areas of the city; even the lower middle class boys and girls who work in those retail outlets, express their amazement at the nonchalance with which some families come to buy. They never ask prices, is something that I hear repeatedly.

The patwari writes a self-contained note

REITERATING the government’s commitment to the devolution of powers through elected local bodies last week, the provincial minister asserted that the process, backed by popular demand, was irreversible. He admitted that the tehsil and union council tiers had been rather slow in taking up their functions but rejected the idea that there was a procedural void. The rules and regulations, he said, were in place. The minister said he was a little disappointed in the people for their apparent lack of initiative. This, however, was no insurmountable hurdle, he said. Should it be necessary, he indicated, the government would push-start these bodies. He hoped also that the situation would improve with time, particularly after June 30 when the budget allocations for the next year would be made by the elected people themselves. To elaborate the government’s commitment to the idea of governance by the people, he cited the example of the police. The local government ordinance, he said, laid down that the police keep the Nazim concerned ‘generally informed’ of the law and order situation and their activities in this regard. The Nazims, however, had found the provision inadequate. Consequently, the ordinance had been amended to require that they should be ‘totally informed.’

Coming from the minister himself, this should be reassuring. But, the good feeling is inconsistent with the real life stories.

At a public appearance last week, the city Nazim faced some citizens having very specific complaints against certain officers. Encouraged perhaps by the patient hearing he gave them, they demanded that he should issue orders ‘on the spot’. The Nazim, a recent convert apparently to the ‘proper channel’ resisted the temptation, however, and referred them instead to the very same officers.

A report from Jhang spoke of the so-called district management group’s efforts to regroup and monoplize power and perks, to the exclusion even of other government servants. Times, it would seem, have changed little in the central Punjab district, since Qudratullah Shahab served as a deputy commissioner nearly five decades ago. In Shahabnama, he has recorded the story of one Eidoo, a refugee from Ambala in east Punjab, that can be read as a parable or as an indictment.

As a displaced person having farmland in Ropar, Eidoo had sought evacuee land in Pakistan. He was provisionally allotted some in Rodu Sultan village of Jhang district. Four years on, the allotment had not been confirmed. The local patwari then told Eidoo his allotment was being cancelled. Accusing the patwari of avarice, Eidoo wrote identical petitions to the Punjab governor, the chief minister, the minister for settlement, the financial commissioner, the divisional commissioner and the deputy commissioner. Received by registered mail, all six applications were referred to the revenue officer for a report. The RO marked them to the tehsildar, the tehsildar to the naib tehsildar, the naib tehsildar to the girdawar, the girdawar to the qanoongo and the qanoongo to the patwari. To make Eidoo appreciate the way the system works, the patwari summoned him and showed him the file. Next, he wrote a note describing Eidoo’s claim as false and returned the file. The qanoongo observed that the note was self-contained and endorsed the patwari’s recommendations, as did the girdawar, the naib tehsildar, the tehsildar and the revenue officer.

Irrespective of whether his implied trust in the ‘system’ and the people running it is an acknowledgment of his limitations and signifies surrender, or is meant to be a subtle warning to the officers, he can count on the note from the patwari always being self-contained. Whether he rubber-stamps it, is up to the Nazim. And that, rather than the push from the good minister, will decide the fate of the devolution.

A SPOKESMAN for the army deplored last week the manner in which an incident involving an army officer and a journalist had been ‘sensationalized’. The spokesman said vested interests had seized on an isolated incident and for personal gain blown it out of all proportion.

According to the spokesman, the officer had told his commanding officer that following a minor accident involving his car, he had been assaulted by a Dawn reporter, with help from an apparently drunk companion.

He had complained that the police had been reluctant to arrange a proper medical examination of everybody involved in the incident as demanded by him. The police, he had concluded, had allowed themselves to be influenced by about a dozen people claiming to be newspaper reporters, who used unparliamentary language and threatened him with dire consequences.

He had also sought permission to file a report with the police.

The permission has since been granted and the FIR lodged. The police have also registered, on a direction by the Lahore High Court, a report filed by the reporter, the only person injured in the incident. The learned court has also restrained the police from trying to arrest the reporter without its permission.

The rights activists and editors commenting on the incident cannot deny having a vested interest in the matter. But then who can? Doesn’t everybody have a stake in rule of law, including the government and the army themselves?

That, indeed is the apprehension. That it might not be obvious to some people in the administration that the present government, on account of its non-elected nature and armed forces constituency, is more vulnerable on this count than a political set-up. The president, probably is aware of this and has done a remarkable job so far of establishing his willingness to allow public scrutiny of his government, as well as his person. One of his great assets today, in fact, is the well-earned reputation for fielding hard questions and tolerating poorly disguised affront.

But it can be lost quickly. The fact that the reporter had recently managed to annoy him in public view has already been mentioned. As has been the fact that the administration has been unable to arrest, even identify, the mysterious assailants of his two other colleagues. It is hoped that the fact is unrelated but it certainly requires a thorough, transparent probe to establish that. It is hoped, also, that the need is understood sooner rather then later and that both the officer and his comrades-in-arms have the patience for it.

REMEMBER Ehtram-i-Ramazan? The phrase was mentioned last week in a report saying the Auqaf Department would hold conferences on the subject. Praise the Lord. What relief indeed? For a frightful moment one thought it was back to the ER about which the police and the magistrate had more say than the Auqaf ulema.

A WHITE elephant was given a royal reception in Yangoon last week. The irreverent saw all kinds of symbolism and analogies in that. — ONLOOKER