ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has slammed the massive hike in gas prices and termed it a big blow to industry.
Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), said that the government has made an unprecedented hike of up to 3900 percent in fixed monthly charges and 194 percent in consumers rates of gas that would bring a massive wave of inflation for the common man and prove to be a big blow to the industry leading to closure of many industries across the country. He said this while presiding over a meeting of the ICCI Executive Body at Chamber House.
Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari said that the economy of Pakistan is still struggling for recovery and it is high time that the government should focus on providing affordable energy tariffs for business and industry to revive the economy. However, instead of promoting ease of doing business, the electricity and gas tariffs have been increased manifold in Pakistan causing massive hike in cost of doing business and making our exports more uncompetitive in the international market. He said that the government is passing on the burden of poor performance and financial losses of the electricity and gas companies to the end consumers by increasing their tariffs, which is not a right approach. He stressed that instead of increasing power tariffs, the government should focus on addressing the inefficiencies of electricity and gas companies and plug their leakages to make them efficient.
President ICCI said that already the unjustified hike in the prices of electricity had forced people to come to the streets in August this year and said that the unprecedented hike in gas tariffs would make their lives more miserable besides badly affecting the business and investment activities in the country. He urged that the government should reconsider the increase in gas prices to save the people and the businesses from further troubles. Faad Waheed, Senior Vice President ICCI, said that gas is a key input to manufacturing activities of many industries and the latest hike in its price would lead to closure of many industries that would further weaken the economy.
