2009 sugar price scam: Judicial Commission begins probe

The Judicial Commission, constituted by the federal government to investigate ''sugar price scam 2009'', has started inquiry to find out who played havoc with the public.
The Commission, led by Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza, a former Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, has been formulated on the demand of Pakistan Muslim League (N) despite the fact that the latter has withdrawn its support to the PPP government with the accusations that all of its demands had not been fulfilled within the stipulated timeframe.
Information collected so far suggests that the then Finance Minister, Industries Secretary, Commerce Secretary and TCP were responsible for the crisis.
All the three top guns of that time did not take practical measures, including import of sugar, which ultimately gave benefit to the hoarders.
The Supreme Court had fixed the price of sugar at Rs 40 per kg, but the federal and provincial governments failed to implement the decision and sugar sold at Rs 60-Rs 65 per kg, in retail.
People were forced to queue up for sugar for hours, with no guarantee that when they would be able to purchase it.
Sugar mill owners were of the view that after fixation of 30 percent quota for domestic consumers, they were not indulging in hoarding, and blamed the middlemen for artificial shortage and price hike.
Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, the then Minister for Industries and Production, who negotiated with the millowners, on the directives of the Cabinet, did not succeed in resolving the sugar crisis.
The Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, in its meeting on March 19, 2009, presided over by the then Prime Minister''s Advisor on Finance Shaukat Tarin, regretted not allowing import of raw sugar at appropriate time when it was cheaper than refined/white sugar. "Raw sugar should have been imported at an opportune time," sources quoted Tarin as saying in that meeting.
On December 31, 2008, the Industries Ministry submitted a proposal to the ECC for import of 0.4 million tons of raw sugar, but the summary, prepared by then Industries and Production Secretary Shahab Khwaja, was outrightly turned down.
The Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Assef Ahmad Ali, and Privatisation Minister Naveed Qamar(now Minister for Water and Power) were the two main opponents of the proposal. Minister for Industries and Production Manzoor Wattoo also refused to extend support to the Industries Secretary.
Sources said that the government had decided that average cost of local sugar production should be ascertained in comparison to international prices by the Commerce Ministry. "The objective of this exercise is to ensure that local sugar mills do not rake in excessive profits," they added.
The PSMA had the view that Minfa and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission were responsible for sugar crisis as both had opposed raw sugar import. The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission had painted the PSMA as ''East India Company''.
PSMA had given a presentation to the government in November 2008 in which it was feared that there would be a shortfall of 0.4 million tons of sugar during that year. The association had recommended to the government to import 0.4 million tons of raw sugar through Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), and distribute it to the mills judiciously for processing, but Minfa did not pay any heed to the proposal, said the then PSMA Chairman Iskandar Khan, while talking to this newspaper.
According to official documents, the ECC had been informed on March 19 that sugar stock, available with the PSMA was over 2.533 million tons. There are reports that sugar shortfall would be around 0.6 million tons this year because of lower production of sugarcane and massive smuggling of sugar to Afghanistan.
Sources said that the Industries Secretary informed the government in December that during 2009, there would be a shortage of 550,000 tons to 770,000 tons sugar in the country, as the shortfall in sugarcane production would be about 8-10 percent.
The Industries Ministry submitted following proposals for consideration of the ECC: (i) - Import of 400,000 tons of raw sugar at zero duty during 2008-09. and (ii) only Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), and not the private sector importers, be allowed to import raw sugar.
Business Recorder Senior reporter Mushtaq Ghumman, who had filed a number of stories on sugar crisis of 2009, has been summoned on June 10, 2011 to seek information.