The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) was set up in 2007 to ensure healthy competition between various commercial organisations, discourage monopoly of a certain groups in the market, stop deceptive practices and develop a competitive economic environment in the country. However, there has been a sequence of irrational increase in the prices of the consumer items for the last many years due to collusion among various business organisations. The government has been looking the situation helplessly as it has failed to act in time despite observing a series of the wholesale exploitation of the general public. The people routinely have to face shortage of sugar, flour, and other consumer items. Despite the fact that Pakistan is an agricultural country, there has been repeated shortage of various vegetables, which are sometime imported from the Indian Punjab.
Even currently, the large business organisations continue to fleece people, but the writ of the government is nowhere in sight. Consumers are openly supplied with substandard food items which are injurious to health but no action has ever been taken against the culprits. The consumer courts have been established, but there is a need to launch an awareness campaign to encourage the general public to file complaints with the consumer courts. There should be a toll free number printed on each consumer item to launch a complaint against the manufacture and supplier of the substandard items. Another toll free number should be of the Competition Commission of Pakistan to launch a complaint against any overpriced item.
The government must implement the writ of the CCP to rescue the people from profiteers, otherwise the fate of this commission will not be different from such previous organisations. Earlier, Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (Control and Prevention) Ordinance’ (MRTPO) 1970 and The Monopoly Control Authority were introduced to safeguard the interests and rights of the general public. The government must now act to achieve the objectives of the establishment of the CCP which include steps to modernise, liberalise, and transform the market economy.
