KARACHI: President of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) M Tariq Yousuf, while referring to the National Energy Conservation Plan approved by federal cabinet under the chairmanship of PM Shehbaz Sharif, stated that the business community fully understands the need for taking energy conservation measures to deal with rising circular debt but the decision to close down shops and restaurants by 8pm is totally impractical particularly in Karachi where the business activities start in the afternoon while the peak shopping hours were between 7pm and 10pm.
Keeping in view the repercussions of reduced business timings for shops and restaurants, president KCCI urged Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and all members of the federal cabinet to review this decision as it was neither in favor of businesses nor the economy.
“Moreover, it is also a well-known fact that most of the Karachiites go out for dinner after 9 pm so the decision to close restaurants at 8 pm was not practical at all, hence, the government must take ground realities into consideration before taking such decisions so that the businesses could not suffer”, he said, adding that the Karachi Chamber should have been consulted prior to implementing this decision so that mutually agreed timings could have been finalized to avoid confusion and any kind of resistance.
In a statement issued, President KCCI said that the Karachi Chamber firmly believes in taking energy conservation measures but these should not be taken by staking local businesses who were already battling for survival in the ongoing era of inflation in which sales and profitability has come down to half or may be more for all types of businesses.
“We, as nation must understand and support the good causes, steps and intentions of the government including the decision to provide work-from-home facility to 20 percent government employees, solarization of government buildings, introduction of electric bikes, efficient light bulbs and fans, use of conical baffle in geysers which would certainly save billions of rupees but at the same time, the government must also understand the peculiarities and dynamics of Karachi where the decision to shut down businesses by 8 pm simply cannot be implemented as it would prove disastrous not only for businesses but also for the economy.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022