Privatization increases inflation and has a direct impact on the economy, whenever privatization has taken place in Pakistan it has had a profound impact on the economy of Pakistan. Today, the construction industry in Pakistan has become so expensive that a common man cannot even think of buying a house, the main reason for this is privatization.
There are 22 private cement companies in Pakistan who are supplying cement to Pakistan and their arbitrary prices are decided by these 22 owners together. If there were public companies instead of private companies, the situation would be different, the prices of the things manufactured by the government institutions determine the price of those things, although these institutions are also used politically which is why they run in loss.
We do not discuss only the cement industry, there are many industries where the government has not invested and the private sector has set arbitrary prices, due to which the industrialists seem to be getting richer and richer. For example, there are the automobile industry, pharmaceutical industry, power generation companies, and other major companies whose commodity prices are skyrocketing today.
Now the IMF wants the remaining government companies to be privatized to further increase inflation. Today, if steel prices have increased, the main reason for this is the closure of Pakistan Steel Mills. From the construction of CPEC onwards, steel will be heavily used in all the construction works to come in Pakistan. Now the prices of steel and cement are fixed by private organizations due to which every construction project in Pakistan becomes extremely expensive.
Now if we privatize institutions like PIA, airlines will start charging their asking prices and it will become more and more difficult for Pakistanis to travel or do business abroad. Similarly, if we sell the best institutions like OGDC and other institutions that can give Pakistan a better future, then how will we be able to develop Pakistan?
For 70 years in Pakistan, the people have been saying that due to the expenses of the political people, the government makes the budget of Pakistan by taxing the people. If the government institutions start earning, then the tax burden on the people will be reduced, because when the government institutions earn money, all the income is included in the budget of Pakistan, so it is a matter of thinking that if we close down the government institutions or if it is privatized, the loss will be to the people.
Today, the burden of taxes on the people of Pakistan is increasing because the government institutions are not allowed to work so they are bought by the people of foreign countries or bought by the big capitalists of Pakistan and impoverish the people and the country by charging their arbitrary prices. Some experts say that privatization is essential because the government cannot run the institutions. But I want to say that if the rulers can run the whole of Pakistan, why not the institutions? The only thing is that if the rulers want, they can use all the government institutions for the convenience of the people and set reasonable prices that are beneficial for the people and for the institution.
If today we just go for privatization, then tomorrow our future generations will find everything expensive because of big capitalists and the only way to run the government will be to collect huge taxes from the people. Today our government is running due to the institutions of government and people’s tax. If the government institutions are removed, the entire burden will fall on the people only.
The only way to control prices for private companies is to have government organizations that produce the same products that private companies are producing but in a non-political way. And keeping the profits appropriate, an example could be set to the private institutions so that the private institutions cannot establish their monopoly.
