Re: Causes of Electricity Crisis and US Aid – Bitter truths
Electricity theft is supported by Distribution companies’ staff. We all remember huge advertisement campaign started by KESC last year for announcing and then extending last date for disclosing faulty connection and payment of bill to avoid consequences including imprisonment. What happened? Nothing at all bcoz there was no will.
**Non-payment of bills **is also supported by a lobby. We remember daily protest at Karimabad causing heavy traffic jams. The protesters were traders who are defaulter for payment of electricity bills. When there connection were disconnected, they made their way through protests and KESC management couldn’t do anything against them for what so ever reason.
Payment of taxes Pakistanis are paying more Indirect taxes (Sales Tax, FED) than direct taxes (Income Tax). Government always inclined to burden the existing taxpayers (mostly salaried class) by levying new taxes (be it IDP tax for Internally Displaced persons of Sawat or Flood Surcharge) instead of broadening the tax net by levying taxes on industrial & agricultural income. For paying taxes, there must be two things. First. capability to pay [which is highly affected by uncontrolled inflation, increase in petroleum products (price structure includes various Govt levies including Sales Tax) on frequent basis] and the second motivation to pay (when I know my hard earned money paid as tax is going to be utilised on ministers ‘Ayyashi’, I’ll never be motivated to pay tax).
So government is directly and indirectly involved in above factors leading to crisis and need for aid (which is eventually goes to politicians’ personal Bank accounts instead of using for public welfare).