Affluent facades

LAHORE: Growth is appreciated the world over if it benefits all segments of society. Real sustained growth remains elusive if only the privileged class is the sole beneficiary as is happening in Pakistan.

Foreign dignitaries remain unmoved about the plight of a common Pakistani because when they visit Pakistan they are taken care of by either high government functionaries or affluent businessmen. The affluence of bureaucrats and businessmen tells a different story.

Foreign dignitaries are provided accommodation in posh five-star hotels and move in luxury cars in posh and developed areas of big cities. What they see is affluent Pakistan. They are not allowed to visit poor localities because of security concerns.

During their stay they see several multinational fast-food outlets serving the wealthy and middle class families. They observe highly impressive local food outlets operating to their full capacity in large cities.

They are not taken to slums of the cities or in rural areas where people drink polluted water and have no sanitation facilities. These poor localities would attract the same sympathy that the world shows towards starving Ethiopians.

They are taken to farmhouses and executive offices of the business tycoons that depict Pakistan as a country operating comfortably. Foreign guests that matter do not experience power outages in their hotel suites or in the offices of business tycoons and high-profile government offices. They do not see hunger and poverty. What they observe is the same affluence that can be seen in any developed country.

Affluence is paraded with impunity as the amount of money spent in expensive outlets for food runs into billions of rupees daily. The beneficiaries are 5-6 percent upper class families. The rest of the 94 percent population cumulatively spends probably the same amount daily to feed their families as spent by 6 elite individuals in one day.

That most of them remain under-nourished is another matter. When farmers reap record bumper rice and wheat crop and part with their produce at normal rates just to find that the rates of the same commodities have jumped by 50 percent a few weeks after harvesting; the glass looks empty to them and full to those few who benefited in this process.

Take the boom in automobiles added during the last 20 years. The number of luxury cars (1800cc or above) added during the past five years is more than the total number of luxury cars plying on Pakistani roads in the previous 60 years. In fact, the SUVs and hybrid cars are sold more than the 640cc small cars. But the addition of millions of cars has not benefited common Pakistanis. Majority of the people still use public transport.

Travelling in public transport is mostly backbreaking. Transport fares have increased manifold in the last one decade; more so in the past three years. Now most of the people prefer to walk shorter distances of two to three kilometres as they cannot afford to pay such high fares. For them any development accompanied with higher transport fares is a curse.

Consumers are paying tariffs for one day use now that was equivalent to their one month’s bill a decade back. The gas bill has gone high, and its availability has evaporated.

Kerosene oil is at its highest rate. LPG gas has now become a major monthly budget item. Poor consumers are at loss as to how to make two ends meet. Official statistic depicts the havoc caused to the poor by the inflation in past 20 years. Atta rates have more than quadrupled from Rs16/kg to Rs65/kg.

Gram pulse was retailed at Rs42/kg a decade back, but it now costs Rs160/kg. Edible oil costing Rs100/litre a decade back now costs Rs400/litre. Meat, beef and mutton are the main source of animal protein that has gone out of reach of 60 percent of the population. Life has become a nightmare for the poor families.