(Dec 27, 2019)
President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President All Karachi Industrial Alliance (AKIA), Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former provincial minister, Mian Zahid Hussain on Friday said the annual accumulation of over Rs450 billion in the infamous circular debt is a great threat to the economy.
The government should take serious steps to initiate meaningful reforms in the power sector to resolve the issue which will trigger economic growth, he said.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that circular debt can be resolved through abolishing corruption and full recovery of bills from consumers which is not happening.
The former minister noted that the circular debt build-up was Rs465 billion for the last year; it was Rs450 billion in 2013 which has now jumped to Rs1.62 trillion.
He noted that over Rs300 billion are lost annually to mismanagement and inefficiency of concerned departments which can be controlled.
Ten power distribution companies in the country are the main culprit while the companies of Quetta, Peshawar, Hyderabad and Sukkur are wasting 20 to 40 percent of the electricity they receive from the national grid.
These white elephants should be tamed as the reluctance in improving the governance will leave no option with the government but to burden honest consumers which will be unjustified.
He said that governed should reject the summary of gas price hike as it will hit masses and economy and result in inflation which will make it difficult for the central bank to reduce interest rates, he said.
