Petrol problems : Editorial in The Express Tribune, Nov 26,2021
The vast majority of petrol pumps across the country closed on Thursday after a strike call by the owners’ union over the government’s failure to allow them to increase their profit margins. Miles-long queues were seen at petrol pumps across the country in the days before the completely avoidable strike. Pump owners have not given a definitive reopening date. They say the government had agreed to allow them to increase their profit margins by 6% and set a deadline of November 17 to implement the change. However, almost a week later, no written approval has been forthcoming. The pump owners say the change is necessary because many pumps are actually losing money on fuel operations. According to Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, the summary would be taken up in the next ECC meeting, but owners insist that they have already waited for over 20 days for the government to formally approve the change.
This crisis, like several earlier ones, could easily have been averted if the government followed through on its agreements in a timely manner. The government has already imposed massive taxes on fuel. It could easily cut the tax rate to accommodate the profit margin increase without raising consumer prices, but this would also be another admission of the government and FBR’s failure to widen the tax net. Instead, its approach has been to claim all is well, explaining that pumps owned by oil marketing companies (OMCs) will continue to operate normally and that it has ordered more fuel to be delivered to these pumps. Unfortunately, OMCs only operate a fraction of the total number of petrol pumps and these will almost certainly run dry when demand at each pump increases four or five-fold. Even if the government can ensure that they are consistently restocked, long lines are not going away anytime soon.
The government also appears to be accusing pump owners of being unpatriotic for simply wanting to make a profit. We wonder why it does not throw these same accusations at top political figures who have gone unpunished despite being found involved in profiteering by various inquiry committees.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2331097/petrol-problems-1
Petrol Pump Strike : Editorial in The Nation, Nov 26th, 2021
The impasse between the government and the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) turned into a full-blown nationwide strike on Thursday, as expected. The issue stems from a demand to raise the profit margins of the petrol station owners, something they have been waiting for over the last three years based on an alleged promise by the government.
The problem was seemingly resolved after the meeting of Minister for Energy, Hammad Azhar with pump owners early in November. But the deadline for the government to come through—according to the PPDA—was November 17. What this indicates is a set of avoidable circumstances on both sides. If there was an agreement made earlier on in the month, the government could have agreed to a more flexible time frame, or at the very least engage more with the PPDA to avoid this strike. It is highly negligent to let a problem fester and react to the situation only after it becomes a serious issue.
Petrol pump owners are perfectly justified in their demand for a bigger profit margin. The government agrees with this as well—to the point where the matter has already been referred to the Economic Coordination Committee. However, retailers could have waited a little more than five days after the deadline elapsed to begin their strike. Governmental processes always take time and require navigating through red tape and putting consumers at stake in this battle is irresponsible on part of the PPDA.
Mr Azhar is correct in holding off on accepting unreasonable demands. If for instance, the call to increase the profit margin by Rs9 is actually legitimate, the state giving in would be tantamount to making an already inflated commodity almost impossible to afford for household and business consumers.
Talks must conclude at the earliest, because while there are petrol pumps that have not joined the call for the strike, the supply lines for fuel have definitely been affected. This might be down to the initial fear after the news of the strike surfaced; we might see a more stable flow of customers to open stations once the panic buying ends. Nevertheless, it is important for the government to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
https://nation.com.pk/26-Nov-2021/petrol-pump-strike
Lessons from the petroleum dealers strike: Editorial in Daily Times, Nov 26th, 2021
Energy Minister Hamad Azhar’s statement, that “legitimate” demands of petroleum dealers would be accepted but those seeking a nine-rupee rise in the price of petrol would be “disappointed”, even as he urged them to end their country-wide strike, opened the door to at least two very important questions that his ministry will still have to answer. One, if by “legitimate” demands he meant the demands that were already agreed to by the ministry but not honoured, which forced the strike, then were those demands accepted after all or not.
And two, why did the ministry wake up to this fact after the public had been inconvenienced and pumps shut down even though it knew very well that its own date for meeting the petroleum lobby’s demands, November 15, had come and gone and no promises were honoured? So, did the talks that finally settled the matter start from the beginning all over again or from where they left off? If the latter, then were the same terms accepted or not? And if the answer is yes, then what was the need for all this commotion? And if no, then why was there an agreement, complete with the announcement of a date when everything would be settled, in the first place.
This was clearly one of those issues that wasn’t properly handled by the government. Everybody knows of the pressure from high commodity prices in the international market, especially oil, but that should only have made the government more circumspect when it sat down with the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) just a few weeks ago. To start a needless blame game when one’s own word has not been kept and the damage is done serves nobody’s purpose, especially not the public’s that has to pay, quite literally, for the government’s mistakes.
This episode calls for a thorough investigation. If PPDA tried to arm-twist the government to make windfall gains, then it should be made to pay for it. But if the energy ministry was asleep at the wheel once again, then it too should be taken to task. The people of the country have already suffered enough because of the negligence and bungling of others.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/846118/lessons-from-the-petroleum-dealers-strike/
