Another Stroke To The Economy

The government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) is facing a lot of challenges due to the lack of expertise in governance, particularly those regarding basic necessities. Shortly after the wheat crisis, the government is now battling the sugar crisis and a lot of it has stemmed from individuals who garner a lot of control over the sugar in the country and are also currently associated with the PTI government. While the order from Prime Minister Imran Khan to ban the export of sugar does help in easing out the shortage, it is the first step in a series of successive steps that need to be taken in order to resolve the actual crisis.

The government needs to look into agricultural reforms that will allow farmers to protect themselves and also encourage their livelihood going up with the profits incurred in export along with local businesses. The current crisis is a result of the lack of coordination and inability to negotiate between the farmers and the Sugar Mills Association (SMA). Both sides had to bear the brunt of the delay in the crushing season and due to any active perusal of the problem, exports need to be stopped now in lieu of following the original plan of curbing imports and expanding exports.

The government needs to mobilise people within the party to understand the crisis and put an end to the mismanagement that has led to successive shortages of basic necessities in the country. These hindrances dampen the chances of the government’s economic policy working out over the next three years. Many of the voters are relying on the government to ease their daily struggles, as we have seen in the recent Gallup survey that shows inflation has replaced corruption as the most pertinent problem in Pakistan in the last two years.

It is important that the government streamlines functions that were being performed in the last two democratic tenures. While there is no denying that the stability in the market was due to the artificial economic policies of the last government, those policies maintain cordial ties. The government of PTI needs to find amicable ways that can help ease out the crisis, especially if sugar giants are closely related to the party leadership. The prices of the sugar available in the market are going high and it will be another item in the list of problems plaguing the population. Sugar is a day to day item and the reducing purchasing power of the people will push the economy back, bringing down profits, as has been indicated by economic surveys in the country. The government is moving towards a very difficult situation, with the voter population significantly agitated. The government needs to prepare itself to manage all this in the current fiscal year.