Without exaggeration, the federal government’s decision to review oil prices on a weekly basis will snatch bread out of the average man’s mouth, all the more so when loadshedding has greatly contributed to inflation. In these weekly reviews, one cannot expect price reduction but an increase, given the practice. It is a further surprise that there is no such precedent anywhere else in the world. Fuel prices are settled in the yearly budget, subject only to major global shifts in the oil market. In our case, governments in the past normally followed the international market and tried its best to keep things under control. Lately, with monthly reviews, the trend took on an altogether different trajectory and partly explains why our economy resembles an ill-piloted wreck.
The only substantial reduction that the government gave was about a month back whose positive impact would fizzle out due to these weekly attacks. Once the inflationary spiral starts, it cannot be easily reversed especially with a fragile economy like ours. What this shows is that the PPP setup lacks any creative strategies to deal with the situation or is simply toeing the IMF line. It has miserably failed to come up with giving relief to the people despite its claims of a people friendly budget. The move will generate more resentment towards the PPP.