A sigh of relief for the distressed.

Byline: Abdul Rashid Shakir

POLITICAL instability, financial mismanagement and broken promises with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are hitting the masses hard in current crises of high inflation, depreciation of rupee against dollar and higher commodity prices in the International market. 'To buy or not to buy, that is the question' for a common man in the wake of massive hike in the prices of basic necessities of life like food items, clothes and shelter. Unchecked spike in the circular debt of energy sector, higher electricity and gas tariff, untargeted and unaccounted-for subsidies in different sectors of economy are adding woes to the precarious economic conditions of the people.

Surge in the fuel cost not only raises travel fares for the commuters but also causes the prices of every item to shoot up because of enhanced shipping charges incurred on transporting goods from farms and factories to the markets. And above all, depleting income resources because of closure of industrial units and high rate of unemployment further aggravates the whole mix. Similarly, for the Governments too, things are not that much easy to manage. Sustaining the bleeding State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) like Steel Mills, PIA, GENCOs DISCOs and others; making exorbitant amount of funds available for ensuring national defense and maintaining law and order in the country; and arranging for the high debt repayment costs besides recurring expenditure of the civil administration like salaries, pensions, POL and others are undoubtedly akin to achieving an uphill task for the country's financial managers, given the limited economic pie available.

However, it is not a hard nut to crack that in such a testing time, any pro-poor intervention of the authorities in power is not only a sigh of relief for the poverty-stricken segments of society but also a quick relief pill for the ailing economy.

Cognizant of their responsibility to provide as much relief to people as possible within their limited financial resources, the Government of Punjab has come up with an innovative and out-of-the-box plan to provide a bit of relief to the depressed and down-trodden sections of the community. With the help of Federal Government, it has finalized a hefty Ramazan Relief Package, worth Rs. 53 Billion, to supply free flour to 100 Million people of its 120 Million population, which accounts for more than 80% of its total population.

As per the approved package, around 15.83 Million...

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