Islamabad, June 21, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Tuesday said real reforms and tough decisions needed to save the economy are not present in the budget. No concrete step has been taken after the budget except for burdening the poor with high electricity and fuel costs, it said. The budget reflects that political interests are deemed more important than national interests by the policymakers, said Brig. (retd) Aslam Khan, Chairman PEW.
In a statement, he said that the continuous rise in oil, gas and electricity prices are not reforms but a wrong policy which is pushing half of the country’s population below the poverty line. A budget which ignores an increase in savings and investment, breaking monopolies, imposition of tax on agricultural income, withdrawal of incentives from the industrial elite and fair distribution of wealth by imposing appropriate taxes cannot be termed a balanced budget.
Nothing has been done in the budget to ensure poverty reduction, removal of trade barriers, promote competition and productivity, develop infrastructure and ensure sustainable development, he added. Aslam Khan said that the growth rate in the budget has been estimated at 5% but it would be a stroke of good luck if it reaches 3%.
On the one hand, preparations are being made to shrink the economy, while on the other hand, efforts are being made to increase revenue, which will result in unemployment and inflation. The previous government gave subsidies and incentives to big business groups to boost growth rates, while the central bank lent heavily while keeping interest rates low and supported record imports, which boosted growth rates but reduced foreign exchange reserves to alarming levels.
The measures taken to boost growth have led to a crisis in payments and have severely damaged the confidence of friendly countries and international institutions, which have refused to lend. The lavish expenditure by the former government is now resulting in a stagnant economy, inflation and rupee depreciation, he observed. The present government should try to relax the strict conditions of the IMF so that the pressure on the people can be reduced.
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