KARACHI: This year’s price-checking campaign being run by bureaucrats in the city is more or less similar to that of previous years’ as the disparity between the official and market rates continues to exist.
In a city of over 20 million population comprising hundreds of markets and thousands of retail shops — the task of price monitoring and checking profiteering rests with 69 officials comprising deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners and Mukhtiarkar.
In order to ensure effective price control campaign, Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi had on March 4 issued an order stating that service of 74 officers (BS-17) had also been placed at the disposal of the deputy commissioners in districts East, West, South, Central, Malir, Korangi and Keamari.
It is not clear whether they have magisterial powers to impose fine or will they report to the DCs only.
In first 15 days of Ramazan, city administration collects Rs30m in penalties from 2,698 ‘profiteers’
It appears that with less than 150 officials of different status, checking profiteering in even one town or a district is an uphill task.
As a result, these officers only perform their routine duties by imposing fines worth millions of rupees on a limited number of retailers followed by some arrest of shopkeepers for overcharging as well as sealing off some shops.
As retailers, especially fruit vendors, try to gain maximum profits from consumers in violation of officially fixed rates, the commissioner of Karachi took some measures to check prices.
Over the past 15 days, authorised officers of city administration have taken action against 2,698 profiteers. They arrested 137 profiteers and sealed 114 shops. During the 15-day action, prices were checked at 15,737 shops.
However, this effort is nothing in view of size of large markets, retailers, wholesalers, push-cart owners, and residential area shops, etc, who openly overcharge consumers during Ramazan.
If a fruit vendor is fined Rs5,000-10,000 for overcharging, he easily recovers the amount within hours when buyers throng the markets after Asar prayers and pay the whimsically high prices demanded by retailers.
While the majority of consumers are not getting any relief, the price regulator has succeeded in collecting over Rs30 million in the head of fines over the 15 days of Ramazan.
The government officials say their strength is low.
They say they can only make one round of each market once in a day due to large number of markets in the city between 9am and Iftar.
Once a retailer is fined in the morning, he has ample time to recover the loss from consumers till evening, knowing that the ACs and DCs will not return again today.
It appears that the retailers have no fear of consequences of profiteering or of even going behind the bars.
It also does not matter whether a retailer displays a price list or not as many of them display the list and still overcharge consumers.
Counters at megastores
After losing hope to achieve any big success in the retail markets, “Commissioner Karachi Counters” are being set up at mega departmental stores.
Revenue officials have been deputed at big marts to ensure effective price monitoring and control.
It is not known as to where the huge amount recovered as fines from retailers goes. It has never been revealed by the concerned government department.
Another problem is that the price regulator usually does not bother to take notice of pre-Ramazan price hike especially in fruit and vegetables, chicken, beef, mutton, and other items’ rates.
Ineffective consumer protection bodies
On the other hand, the so-called consumers’ protection bodies also remain confined to their offices rather than safeguarding consumers’ interest.
No consumer body takes out any rally or holds protest against the government’s failure in controlling prices. Nor do they ever criticise the manufacturers and retailers for price hikes. These consumer protection bodies only pose as if “all is well and under control”.
Hoardings and stock pilings of commodities also increase ahead of Ramazan following influx of greedy investors in markets while no serious action is taken.
On the eve of price list making, the government hardly takes any stock of goods, demand and supply situation of Ramazan related items, availability of imported items and local production of goods. Because only after having these numbers in hand, the government could argue with stakeholders in successful manner in order to fix prices of various commodities at reasonable level.
While the government remains ignorant of true situation, market players manage to force the government into fixing the prices as per their whims.
Retailers and wholesalers always scratch each other’s back on price hikes, while consumers pay the price of the government’s lack of interest in checking pre- and post-Ramazan price shocks.
The government usually fixes prices of goods on the lower side to provide relief to the masses as compared to the prevailing retail and wholesale rates.
Absence of political leadership
“This mega port city needs at least 5,000 government officials to curb overcharging and to achieve good results in view of the size of markets and number of shops,” Karachi Wholesalers Grocers Association (KWGA) chairman Rauf Ibrahim said.
“Consumers find no political leadership as well that can help out them from every year’s price hike during Ramazan,” he added.
He said the federal and provincial political representatives must come out in local markets to see people’s suffering and to help them.
“Political representatives must understand that they are sitting in assemblies due to people’s votes,” he said.
“The government needs to enforce its writ as well which is missing. It must seal shops of wholesalers and retailers for the entire month over overcharging so that they cannot make instant recovery during the holy month,” Rauf said.
Presence of two to three complaint centres will not help either. Consumers need complaint centres in every market to easily lodge complaints, he added.
Karachi Retail Grocers Group (KRGG) secretary general Farid Qureshi said that the price list had been fixed without taking retailers on board. Only the Jodia Bazar wholesalers were invited in the meeting to make a price list.
Disagreeing that retailers push up the rates on the eve of Ramazan, he said: “Retailers raise prices only after getting the items at higher rates from the wholesale markets”.
He said only market retailers face challans, fines, imprisonment and shop sealing instead of big wholesalers.
Farid said that there was a need to enhance crackdowns on hoarders, investors and speculators like in the time of caretaker government, which had helped recover pile up stocks and brought down sugar rates.
Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2025
