Easier said than done

EDITORIAL: So, we’re to believe, after the announcement about tackling power theft and low recoveries, that the caretaker government will do what has not been done in all these years, perhaps decades? First of all, it almost beggars belief that the government was in possession of all the data about electricity thieves and corrupt officials all this time, yet it took rioting in the streets and an IMF (International Monetary Fund) rejection of an emergency relief plan to finally take action; at least announce the intention to take very serious action.

Surely, the same law of the land that will be leveraged to punish all the guilty parties also mandates action against decision makers at the top, who had this incriminating data all the time, and knew well its burden on the exchequer in times of an unprecedented squeeze, yet continued to look the other way.

There’s also the fact that the caretaker setup, which has angrily rolled its sleeves up, is around for a very short while. And everybody knows that the people and mafias that steal electricity and trick the system with impunity do it because of their powerful political connections.

They bankroll election campaigns and then have their backs scratched for the entire cycle – the classic quid pro quo at the heart of rotten democratic politics.

Now, with another very crucial election coming up, and the same old faces running for office just when the same old financers would be willing to dole out more than the usual just to save their hides, who’s to tell if the same old cycle will not repeat itself?

Perhaps the potential game changer is the involvement of the so-called establishment this time; even though in the past the military administrations couldn’t, or wouldn’t, do much about it even when it was running the show directly.

But now it has firmly put its foot down, and promised to help the government sort out all sorts of bad guys, from electricity thieves to exchange rate speculators; in the latter case with immediate results.

If this is true, and the most powerful institution of the federation has indeed declared war on unscrupulous elements that rob billions from the people every year, then it is to be welcomed. Especially since it will pressure whichever party forms government to continue the crusade.

The biggest problem, even in the best-case scenario that gets this ball rolling immediately, is that the window of time to show results is almost shut in our faces. That is why state inaction earlier is, at least in this case, a crime bigger than the theft itself.

Even with the best management, as well as intentions, it will take a while to weed out all the rot. And the situation is already so bad that the people that rioted a few days ago will come out after every month of incrementally inflated bills till the whole thing boils and spills all over the place.

The only thing that could put a lid on the anger, although a very loose one, is a clear show that things are being sorted out, and therefore finally moving in the right direction. Still, with a lot more electricity bill shocks to come, when the government will be forced to raise petrol and gas prices, and the interest rate will keep following inflation higher, the bit about corrective action, especially if it is to provide relief to the common man, is easier said than done.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023