Loud Thinking

Archive for the ‘Action Plan to Revive Pak Economy’ Category

Modi government committed to lower taxes, finance minister Arun Jaitley says

Surojit Gupta & Sidhartha,TNN | Jul 15, 2014, 01.40 AM IST

BUT PMLN’s GOVERNMENT IS NOT ONLY COMMITTED TO INCREASE TAXES AND RATES OF UTILITY BILLS WHICH IT HAS ALREADY VERY HAPPILY DOUBLED IN JUST FEW MONTHS OF ITS RULE AND NOW HAS COMMITTED WITH THE IMF TO FURTHER DOUBLE THE RATES..!

However, BMW’s and dogs worth crores of Rupees will BE purchased from the tax payers money as usual, for their own comfort and security of the rulers..!

LET THE GENERAL PUBLIC GO TO HELL..!

My comments on the below mentioned news:

If I were the PM, would first replace the finance minister before giving the go ahead for any mini budget.

Unfortunately, this FM has neither the vision nor the will to act upon any out of box thinking.

He can only think the easy way of taking loans (on harsh conditions) and increasing the burden on general public (which pays the power and gas bills honestly) by increasing the utility charges one way or the other.

Our present government has also miserably failed in curbing the massive corruption in the country, which has the magnitude almost equal to the budgeted expenses of the year 14-15 i.e., Rs.4 trillion; which also means that the size of our black economy is equal to the white economy. And perhaps this size of corruption (Rs.12 billion/day according to the former Chairman NAB) may not be prevailing in any other country, where white and black economies are almost equal; and still the government is still looking the other way….but then the question arises why the government is silent over this massive corruption, tax evasion and utilities theft; which is eating away the very foundations of the country’s economy?

As such, the PMLN’s government which came into power on the promises of rooting out the corruption and bringing back the looted money, is giving an incentive to the dishonest and punishment to the honest citizens by increasing taxes and rates and not cracking down on the dishonest people.

News item of Express Tribune:

$6.7b IMF bailout: If needed, Pakistan may introduce mini-budget

By Shahbaz RanaPublished: July 8, 2014

Loan conditions: Rs1.4tr is IMF’s budget deficit target for Pakistan for 2014-15. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:
In a bid to keep the $6.7 billion bailout programme afloat, Pakistan has assured the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it will introduce a mini-budget and slow down development spending to create a cushion of Rs145 billion in case problems arise in delivering the budget deficit target.
“To help ensure programme targets can be met, the [Pakistani] authorities have identified several contingency measures that can be implemented if the expected fiscal adjustment begins to fall short of the objective,” an IMF report revealed on Monday.

The objective IMF mentions is keeping the budget deficit – the gap between income and expenses – equal to 4.8% of the country’s GDP or Rs1.398 trillion. This is lower by 0.1% of the GDP – or Rs32 billion – than the target approved by Parliament.
According to the written assurance, the government, on the revenue side, plans to eliminate statutory regulatory orders (SROs) in fiscal year 2015-16 if tax revenues fall below the level envisaged in the programme. For 2015-16, the government has already given an SRO-elimination plan that promises slating the orders equivalent to 0.3% of the GDP or Rs81 billion at the current size of the economy.
These Rs81 billion measures will be over and above the Rs231 billion net new taxes that the government imposed from July 1. For the new fiscal, the government has set a Rs2.81 trillion tax target that many, including the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), privately admits is unachievable.

“The chances of a mini-budget are high as FBR cannot collect more than Rs2.6 to Rs2.65 trillion in this fiscal year … this is what I told the finance minister before the finalisation of the budget,” said Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, a renowned economist and member of the Economic Advisory Council.
“On the expenditure side, we will again reduce expenditure allocations in the first nine months of the year compared to the budget to create a reserve against any shortfall,” Finance Minister Ishaq Dar assured the IMF. This policy is consistent with a contingency plan that the government adopted in the previous financial year, which led to a severe under-spending on the development side.
Pakistan has assured that these measures could yield savings amounting to 0.5% of the GDP or Rs145 billion. “In any case, we stand ready to take compensatory measures as needed, including adjustment on the revenue side, to reach our fiscal target,” the finance minister told the IMF.
According to independent economists, such policies are anti-growth and will adversely affect the current fiscal year’s economic growth rate target of 5.1%. Apparently, the IMF doesn’t trust the government will achieve this target. “For FY2014-15, the economy is forecast to expand by around 4%,” the international lender noted in its report.
New surcharge
Pakistan has also assured the IMF that it will slap a new surcharge on electricity consumers to recover the circular debt if the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) rejected its plan to recover circular debt from consumers by increasing tariffs. The report puts the total circular debt at Rs500 billion.
New conditions
The IMF has imposed four new conditions on Pakistan after the government showed reluctance in reforming some of the critical areas. These conditions, known as structural benchmarks, are steps to give real operational independence to the State Bank (SBP).
The second new condition is filling vacancies in the NEPRA board by end of current month. The third condition is offering minority shares in UBL and PPL to domestic and international investors, which has been met.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2014.

Dear Mr. Ishaq Dar Sahab,

AoA.

Sir,

Hope you remember that I submitted few proposals titled “How to control prices in the holy month of Ramzan” before the advent of Ramzan on 25 June, 2014.

One of these suggestions was to jail the over charging shopkeepers and hoarders for 30 days without bail.

Kindly peruse the link for the detailed reading of my suggestions at :-https://www.snayyar.com/loud-thinking-june-25-2014-at-1202pm.html#sthash.7rMPymj3.dpbs

However, just for your information, today the TOI has reported that Indian government has decided to make the hoarding, a non-bailable offence.

In this regard, the detailed news may be perused as below.

Hoarding to be non-bailable offence; fund to stabilize prices
PTI | Jul 4, 2014, 07.46 PM IST

Link:- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/homemaker/Hoarding/articleshow/37785105.cms

Best regards,

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

Lahore.

Sent from my iPad3 4G LTE

Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif must read this editorial titled “IMF’s debt trap” published today, by the daily “The Frontier Post”.

However, I would have titled it “IMF’s economic DEATH trap”.

Moreover, Pakistan needs immediate appointment of a VISIONARY finance minister, who can take us out of the death trap of the ultra high foreign and local debts.

Pakistan call ill afford the running of its economy, just with loans and every now and then increasing tax and utility rates, ONLY for those honest citizens, who pay very timely, all the taxes and the utility bills. This is the most CALLOUS way of dealing with the economic woes of a country, that too by a DEMOCRATIC government.

The previous 5 years PPP rule and the last one years PMLN rule, has ruined the economic foundations of Pakistan; by running the finances of the country with huge domestic and foreign loans, without any considerations of the future repercussions, on the national economy and ultimately on the the sovereignty of the country.

Now, we have reached a stage where in the current fiscal year (2014-15), out of the total Budget of about 4 trillion PKR, we have kept an amount of 1.3 trillion PKR (about 1/3rd of the total budget of 4 trillion PKR) for the debt servicing ALONE, which is almost double the amount of our defence spendings, budgeted for the current fiscal year.

A R T I C L E

IMF’s debt trap

Posted on 2014-07-01 04:32:09

Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President of the Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) has said that policy makers are focused on reducing deficit and privatization of prime assets as dictated by the IMF. By doing so they have pushed the country virtually in IMF’s trap. Transferring ownership of our national assets may result in growing poverty; in unemployment because of retrenchment by the new owners, and eroded exchange rates as foreign investors would transfer profits overseas. In addition, international financial institutions want to impose global economic order, a plan hidden behind attractive words like privatization, deregulation and downsizing etc.

Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar boasts about foreign investors’ confidence in the government, and claims to have commitment of $32 billion Chinese investment, which is in fact a loan; $11 billion loan has been approved by the World Bank, $6.64 billion by the IMF and $2 billion has been acquired through the launch of Eurobonds.

IMF touts that it helps recover the economies that are in dire straits, but in fact it has the record of multiplying the problems of debtor countries. Its conditions of withdrawing subsidies, devaluation of currency and privatization of prime national assets adversely impact the people and the state.

Pakistan is already in the grip of debt to the extent of $65 billion, and despite the rescheduling of the debt or taking new loans to pay back the old loans, one day these loans have to be paid. If this trend continues, Pakistan would find itself in the vicious circle; and would continue to take more loans to pay back the old loans; and also loans for mega projects like Dassu Project, which means phenomenal increase in debt servicing and as a result increase in fiscal deficit.

To avert the economic disaster, the government must show zero-tolerance to corruption, tax evasion, wastages and mismanagement in public sector enterprises. It should learn to live within its means and reduce the non-development expenditure by curtailing perks and privileges of cabinet members and parliamentarians.

If axe falls on development expenditure, Pakistan would not be able to build infrastructure for further development and industrialization to generate employment opportunities.

On their part, the trade and industry should resort to aggressive and innovative marketing policies; look for non-traditional markets; and try to increase the exports of value-added products to reduce the trade deficit.

Unfortunately, the IMF does not give suggestions or advices that really matter.

For example, there seems to be no pressure to immediately bring agriculture sector into the tax loop perhaps because majority of the parliamentarians belong to landed aristocracy.

Some industrialists have also gone into agricultural sector to take advantage of exemption on agricultural income, and use it to convert black money into white money.

It means that the IMF would not like to annoy the ruling elite. It has to be mentioned that agriculture contributes about 23 per cent to the GDP, but does not contribute to the exchequer in the form of taxes even to the extent of 5 per cent.

As regards trade deficit i.e. excess of imports over exports, our industrialists and exporters are handicapped because of higher input costs like electricity and gas charges.

It is better for the government to rely on homegrown policies instead of following IMF policies.

PML-N government has been claiming that it has competent, experienced and honest managers they why it does not put them as heads of the public sector enterprises to turn into profitable entities.

In many countries, the utilities are being run successfully by the state; why it cannot be done in Pakistan.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

AoA.

Each and every word of the below mentioned article titled New “axis of reform” by Captain Anwar Shah is worth reading for you and all your policy advisors.

Best Regards,

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

New ‘axix of reform’

June 29, 2014
CAPTAIN ANWAR SHAH

Asia’s, three economies are suddenly experiencing a burst of change that could alter the growth trajectory for the worlds’ most populous region. We are going to see the birth of a new “axix of reform”, one which could revive the global economy. The month of May recorded Indian export of 28 billion USD compared to 24 billion USD last year and imports were 39 billion USD, reducing the trade deficit. Indian Ports of Kandla and Cochin handled 70 million ton each imp/Exp against our total 70 million ton Imp/Exp from our two ports.

China’s XI Jinping, India’s Narendar Modi and Japan’s Shinze Abe are simultaneously sketching out vague – but – promising plans to revitalise their rigid economics. It is not a co-ordinated process – more of a serendipitous coincidence, driven by a dire need for change in all three nations. Still, the possibilities are enticing. A truly dynamic and innovative Asia would raise living standards for billions and fresh hope for a world wondering where all its big growth engines went. India and China trade is 80 billion USD, likely to triple, where as our trade with China hinges at 6 billion USD, tilted in favour of China. China is said to be helping India to explore 80 billion tons of untapped mineral resources. Bangladesh too has signed agreement with China to develop deep water port near Cox Bazar to boost their economy. Interestingly Bangladesh has 21 billion USD reserves..

With Asia’s giants forming a new group from “BRICS” to “CIJ”, they are in grip of reformers, prospects have certainly improved. Not only India and China now led by men that have spelled out so ambitious reform agenda, removing red tapes and firing slow civil servant golfers, but so in Japan, with abenomics ticking away background too “whilst the challenges and macro structure of China and India are different, if both leaderships deliver a long awaited reforms, the resurrection of the “Chindia” reconstruct may provide a surprisingly compelling boost to the emerging markets story, at just the point when many in the markets have dismissed the opportunity. The South Korean Leadership is committed to wholesale turn around, whilst we remain in deep slumber sleeping on pillow of “MoU” only.

If leaders may deliver by combined efforts, it may offer a tremendous boost to world economy. The need for change is broadly accepted across their populace excluding us.

It will also offer a striking counterpart to the USA and Europe, where reform fatigue rules debate from Washington to Brussels. Now West will learn from Asia and its growth reality China is bent upon holding 7.5 percent GDP Growth, whereas Modi may face tough resistance from civil servants who are slow and said to be corrupt and not receptive to innovation or change axis of reform is worth watching, as it may become growth driver of the world economy.

The Middle East is in serious turmoil as Iraq is heading for new demography as Libya, Syria etc. Capacity in the seaports and airports in the Middle East is growing faster than regional trade, potentially jeopardising the viability of billions of dollars worth of new investment in transportation infrastructure. Gulf countries investment in logistics based on logic of carrying out niche as trading posts between Africa and Asia. Dubai Jebel Ali Port accounts half of the regions seaport capacity, but many other gulf countries are copying Dubai template thus capacity will increase from 40 million TEU to 100 million TEUs incoming decade, the trade is not growing by 10% to fill the increased capacity at gulf ports. The capacity planning in Middle East is dysfunctional, not co-ordinated and mismanaged. The risk of over-capacity in Middle East is so imminent, as deep water port of Colombo built and operated by China Merchants will induce most of the Indian trade from Middle Eastern hubs. The over-capacity in Middle East gulf of states is at serious risk as investment in ports have long gestation period, and if remains unutilised, the Gulf States like Koreans may use the new capacities for entertainment not for logistics.

The new deep sea port of Colombo is able to berth and service the new mega size Class-E and Class EEE container ships with carrying capacity of 13000 to 18000 TEUS. The growth in Asia will support movement of containers on super ships for the sake of economy of scale and Colombo being on main East and West route, all mother ships will call, thus feedering to Indian and other regional ports. The Colombo Port handles 70 percent transshipment cargo and handles only 30 percent captive cargo and presently handling 7 million plus TEU likely to attain 10 million. Indians are worried due to feedering cost from Colombo thus may opt for barges being pushed by tugs for feedering to shallow draught ports on Indian coast thus copying the Mississippi river as pattern of pushing barges, cutting the cost.

Sadly Pakistan’s ports only handle captive cargo except some transit cargo to Afghanistan. The delayed Pakistan deep sea water port may be functional by 2015 due to lacklustre attitude of Karachi port management, it was conceived in 2006 to be completed by 2009, but now it may be partly functional by 2015. We are planning energy by using coal, the only Pakistan bulk terminal of marine services group, which too is delayed may handle 5 million tons, against our prospective requirement of 15/20 million tons of coal. Gadani Port is still to take off to cater our coal handling. Sadly despite handing over Gwadar to new concessionaire, nothing is visible on the ground, even no road link via Surab to National highway. We see many inaugurations but sadly ground reality is different. Why can’t we make efforts to induce land-locked Central Asian State cargo to our ports and become hub of land-locked countries? I feel our planners may seriously ponder on transshipment cargo rather captive cargo only. PNSC is the only silver lining in our maritime industry making profit being in public sector. Planning Commission is well advised to take serious note of growth in Asia and work seriously to get a slice out of it, so that our youth may find new avenues as population continuous to grow. Let us target min 6 percent GDP growth and pay full attention to our Maritime Sector for accelerating and giving a kick start to our economy. It saddens me, when I read growth studies in Asia, excluding Pakistan.

(The writer is adviser to Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2014

How to control prices in the holy month of Ramzan?

All the provincial and district governments must ensure that the government approved rate lists of each and every item, must be BOLDLY and PROMINENTLY displayed at each and every shop, Khokha and Rehri; and must also be advertised daily in the media.

Although, this will NOT completely eliminate the overcharging and extra profiteering by the sellers; yet, it will be a big deterrent and relief in over charging and to a large extent, will also be very effective against the hoarders, as well. Basically, the hoarders are responsible for the Ramzan price hikes.

Moreover, telephone numbers of the concerned officials of the district administration, should also be printed on the price lists, in bold font, for the public to register their complaints for swift action, against the sellers who are found to be overcharging, during the Holy month of Ramzan.

Secondly, a public volunteers team should also be formed, to assist the local administration, in enforcing sale of items on government’s fixed rates.

Thirdly, to instil fear of law into the hearts of the overcharging persons, such unscrupulous persons, must immediately be jailed (without bail) for 30 days, after same day court trials.

All MNA’s, MPA’s, retired government servants of grade 20 and above and ALL serving government servants of grade 17 and above, should be vested with the powers of the 1st Class magistrate to speed up the trial process, in this regard.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Sir,

The matter raised by Mr. Kalim A. Chishtie, in his below mentioned letter, published by the Daily Dawn of today, needs your personal intervention, as it adversely affects the senior citizens and widows etc.

If we compare the previous PPP rule with your one years performance, one thing is strikingly clear that PPP at least had a soft corner for the low income group, while your government seems completely oblivious of the problems, being faced by the middle class and the lower middle class citizens.

I will request you to just have a look at the utility bills of the above mentioned categories of people, to have an idea how the same has increased during your tenure, compared with the last PPP government.

Actually, your government having failed to recover the utility bills from the high and mighty people, who never pay their utility charges, has decided to punish the millions of honest bill payers, by increasing the rates of all the utility services, with a vengeance.

Now, this is a novel way of punishing the honest people, who never indulge in the theft of electricity, gas and water.

People still fondly remember that it was the last PPP government, which enhanced the upper limit of the EOBI pension to Rs. 3,600/PM.

Let me assure you that if the Rs.30,00,000/- or PKR 3 million upper limit is reasonably enhanced, your government can easily generate much more huge amount of funds, than you will get the revenue, from the tax collected on the Behbood profit payments. But, for this suggestion to be implemented, you will have to take a (firm) stand before the mighty bankers lobby, who will oppose this enhancement of limit, tooth and nail.

Submitted for your favourable consideration please.

Yours sincerely,

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad
Lahore.

Behbood scheme

By From the Dawn Newspaper
Updated about 2 hours ago

Comment Email Print

IT is interesting to note that out of the blue the present government has come up with a novel idea of taxing the profits of the Behbood scheme. Does the government wish that senior citizens and widows who are meeting their expenses through profits derived from the scheme should face more difficulty in managing their daily expenditures in this age of inflation?

Kalim A. Chishtie
Karachi

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2014

Why can’t we build a tax free Textile city at Gawadar???

In 2002, Pakistan and Bangladesh had identical export earnings from garments at $2.5 billion each.

Bangladesh earned $21 billion of revenues last year by exporting garments to the West. We earned $2.6 billion.

The people of Pakistan need to know from the concerned in the GOP, the answers to the following questions:

1. Why there was no bidder for the expired license of Instaphone? Who is responsible for this grave failure?
Here it must be remembered that despite the false myth, of the stiff competition, the Pakistani telecom market is working like dollar manufacturing machine, for the telecom companies, which are regularly earning and remitting billions of USD, back to their parent overseas companies. However, these companies do not want to invest a single penny in Pakistan from their overseas wealth, that too earned from Pakistan.

2. Why the procedure of auction was designed in a manner which facilitated the alleged pooling? Has any action been taken against the consultants, who were hired for very hefty amounts?

3. What reciprocal benefits were BARGAINED with the telecom companies, in accepting their HUGE DEMAND, for allowing the payments in Pak Rupee (after it was decided and notified in the Information Memorandum (IM) that the entire auction payments will be required in the USD) which effectively confirmed that no foreign investment will be coming to Pakistan, in this auction?
In fact this acceptance of demand changed the whole scenario of the auction.

4. Why no serious efforts were made to invite new foreign telecom companies? Does it mean that the few telecom operators in Pakistan, would not allow any new entrant in their field to guard their monopoly?

5. Why no new foreign telecom company came to Pakistan, when major current telecom companies in Pakistan are doing such a ROARING business (against the wrong myth of stiff competition) that they are REGULARLY sending around $2 billion per annum profit out of Pakistan, which is more than the combined yearly profits of the two world leading US soft drinks companies in Pakistan?

6. And despite such a huge earnings of the telecom companies in Pakistan, why the FBR is not pressing, for its many years old claim of more than PKR 50 billion, usurped by these companies, on account of payables to the government, collected from the public, on GOP’s behalf?
This amount must be recovered now with the accrued interests, for which if required, the matter may be got decided from the courts; and till such time the decision is pending from the courts, this amount should be taken from the telecom companies and kept with the courts.

7. When the whole world is crying foul in the 3G/4G bids submitted by the four Telecom companies, why the government gave statements that the auction will fetch a satisfactory amount of $1.3 billion, when even these payments will be received in the Pak Rupee? Here, why the public is not being told the fact that even this amount will not be received in full, but only PKR 65 billion will be received as lump sum; and the remaining 50% amount will be received in easy instalments, spread over 5 years?
This virtually means that GOP has given a major concession of “pay as you earn” to the telecom companies, which again proves that there will be no inflow of foreign investments, in this auction.

8. If earlier the GOP accepted the demands of the telecom companies, to withdraw from the notified IM the payment condition in USD to PKR, why no bargaining was made to get the entire auction amount in the first instance without any instalments; and why the telecom companies were not forced in the same bargaining of depositing their outstanding amount of PKR 50 billion, which actually don’t belong to these companies, as it was the amount of taxes collected from the public on the government’s behalf?

9. Why the government relaxed the rules to allow the participation in the telecom spectrum auction, of a defaulting telecom company?

10. Why the $800 million due from a defaulting telecom company since 2006 is not being forcefully recovered for the equal of the more than 95-97% properties, already transferred in that defaulting telecom company’s name.

11. Why the defaulting telecom company is holding $800 million of the GOP, just for the non transfer of less than 3-5% properties? Why the government has allowed it self to be black mailed in this case, when on an another account a Turkish power company’s ship was seized by the GOP for its default? Why UAE’s telecom company is being given a preferential treatment, over the Turkish power company?

12. Why the government has not decided to cancel the privatisation of the PTCL to Etisalat Telecom on its about a decade of default of $800 million, which in real terms now means almost equal to near about $5 billion?

13. When specially 3G spectrum is a life and death matter for the telecom companies in Pakistan, why Warid Telecom has decided to stay away from the bidding?
This question has many aspects and need deep investigations to find the true answers.

14. Why not immediately scrap the 3G, 4G telecom spectrum auction till some more companies also join the telecom business in Pakistan?

15. GOP announced in very categorical terms that 3G Telecom Spectrums will be auctioned to the 3 Telecom Companies out of the 4 bidders. Why then in the end this farce of auction was turned into an virtual allotment; and instead of giving licences for 3G/4G Spectrum to the first 3 highest bidders it was virtually ALLOTED to all  the 4 bidders that too practically at base price?

16. This also means GOP allowed pooling of the bidders as no bid was effectively, substantially and reasonably above the base or reserve price.

17. If in the end instead of auction, the licenses were to be ALLOTED or just upgraded, then why GOP spent millions of Rupees/Dollars to hire the services of the consultant.

18. The two telecom companies namely Mobillink and Telenor are owned by VIMPLECOM. Now these companies are blocking one license for a new company/foreign investment. Why this aspect of monopoly has been ignored by the GOP.

19. If Mian Mansha can be called by the NAB on MCB’s  privatisation irregularities why can’t the responsible GOP persons of the GOP be called by the NAB on converting an auction into an allotment/up-gradation?

 

 

Why Hullabaloo only on CNG and Fertiliser gas usage?

Why no audit of IPP’s for maximum waste in Pakistan of gas and furnace oil compared to the rest of the world?

Why total income tax free profit allowed to the IPP’s? This means rewarding the IPPs for colossal wastage of oil and gas and consequently producing very expensive electricity.

Pakistan must ensure that the efficiency of the (independent power producers) IPP’s is improved immediately, if not to the world level, at least to the level of India.

Our gas-fired power plants consume up to 17,000 BTUs to produce one kWh, while India produces one kWh with 6,000 BTUs. We are wasting 11,000 BTUs just for nothing as compared to India.

Our furnace oil fired IPPs are consuming almost twice as much oil, to produce the same amount of electricity, than other comparable power plants in the world.

Now, calculate the monetary value of this waste of the oil and gas (as compared to India\world) and imagine the saving in cheap production of electricity to the government; and its consequential benefits to the people.

Increasing the IPPs efficiency will sharply bring down the cost of production of the electricity and greatly reduce the high power tariff burden on the general public. This can only be done by an energy audit of the IPPs, which the NEPRA has avoided, for the last eight years.

Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Sahab, these are the management and governance issues; and if attended properly by your government, will result in huge relief to the masses. But some how, I apprehend that your bureaucracy\advisors are not giving you the true picture of the state of the affairs; and the power cartel is so strong that you look absolutely helpless. These people will never allow you to act on the out of box solutions. They just want you to keep on increasing oil, gas and electricity prices, according to their mad dictation.

Mr. PM of Pakistan, it is high time you reshuffle and also change your entire team, repeat entire team, else be ready for not many rosy days in future.

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

Lahore.

Sent from my iPad3 4G LTE
PS:- The information regarding high usage of gas and furnace oil by our IPPs, its comparison of production efficiency with India and the world and matter of NEPRA energy audit was quoted from the article of Mr. Farrukh Saleem, titled “Power Cartel” published by the daily “The News” dated October 6, 2013.