There was a lot more than what met the eye in a recent heroic declaration made by PML(N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, flanked by Punjab’s Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, offering an overwhelming relief of Rs 14 per unit in the electricity prices, which may lead to a 38 per cent bill reduction for consumers in the province. For starters, this means that the ruling family realised that it had no option but to read the tea leaves and come up with something or the other to cool down the rising dissatisfaction. However, the move has already drawn the ire of economic experts who question its sustainability and wonder who will actually benefit from the said subsidy. It goes without saying that the Punjab government needs to establish accountability mechanisms to ensure that this attempt to earn some goodwill does not fall flat on its face. The subsidy must benefit not only the employees of public utilities but also the general public to be remembered as pro-people and, therefore, Maryam Administration is in for a walk on an excruciating tightrope. Going by the strong reaction sparked in other provinces, it would, nonetheless, be wrong to underestimate the political optics involved. PML(N)’s stronghold may not be appeased with a single announcement but it has definitely taken the first step towards regaining its confidence. What is still a work in progress is the procurement of the necessary funds. Punjab’s Senior Minister Maryam Aurangzaib stopped short of explaining from where would Rs 45 billion be diverted from the budget, nor did she provide information on plans to sustain the sector whose development funds would be utilised.
CM Maryam may have earned the brownie points for going the extra mile for the sake of her province (and making quite a grand show of this benevolence) for now, but governments would have to sooner or later reconsider their non-developmental expenditure in order to gain the trust of the masses. *