Much-needed relief

With increasing inflation in the country, the recent announcement to launch a relief package worth Rs7 billion is a timely step. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan has announced that over a 1000 items available at Utility Stores will be subsidized by the government so that customers in need can buy essential stuff for their daily subsistence at reduced prices. That the prices of essential items have gone up rapidly during the past year and a half should have been a cause of concern for the current government much earlier. If common people are unable to buy basic items such as edible oil, flour, pulses, rice, and sugar, their entire livelihood is affected. If most of the meagre resources they have go to food items, there is little left for other necessities like education and health of their children. That is why in most countries food items are subsidized to ensure a minimal level of living.

According to the announcement, the subsidy will range from seven to 40 rupees on various items at Utility Stores. Though the subsidy announced amounts to around five to ten percent of the price, the buyers will be required to register their names by producing valid identity cards (CNICs). This condition will make it much more cumbersome for poor customers, especially women, who in many cases either do not have a valid CNIC or in some cases their CNICs may have expired. Yet in some other cases women’s documents, including CNICs, are in the possession of their husbands who may not be readily available. For this reason, this condition should be relaxed. Another matter is the lack of Utility Stores in rural areas or smaller towns as most such stores are located in and around big cities making it well-nigh impossible for small-town dwellers to make use of this subsidy.

Lastly, subsidies are not a substitute for job creation and reducing inflation. Such steps, though welcome, become untenable soon and even at the Utility Stores prices tend to bounce back to higher levels. So, what the government really needs to do is take measures to first of all increase the number of such stores, and secondly, ensure a continue and uninterrupted supply of subsidized items. And, finally, some concrete steps need to be taken for job creation so that the people of the country can come out of the poverty trap they are currently stuck in.