Jamaat’s Parwar urges govt to fight corruption instead of hiking power tariffs

Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar on Thursday cautioned the government against hiking power prices and suggested policymakers should instead rein in the alleged widespread corruption in the sector to hedge against a global fuel shock.

Government hiked power prices by nearly 17% on Wednesday ignoring calls made by stakeholders in a public hearing to drop the move, Parwar said warning the hike would pile additional pressure on the already elevated consumer inflation.

He was speaking at a party rally held at the North Gate of Baitul Mukarram to protest against the power price hikes.

On Wednesday, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) hiked power prices to reduce the pressure on increased import costs spurred by the Iran war-related global supply shock. Policymakers also likely hiked rates to reduce subsidy spending and meet a relevant criterion for unlocking new IMF funds.

On Thursday, the BERC halted tariff hikes for two low-tier consumer groups to reduce pressure on household budgets.

In the protest rally, Parwar claimed that the government hiked power tariffs in keeping with IMF recommendations. He urged the officials and cabinet members to bear in mind that the nation is not a “slave to global lenders like IMF and World Bank.”

Parwar said the government should instead address long-standing and widespread irregularities in the areas of: capacity charges for power plants, system losses, as well as rental and quick rental systems.

The government is avoiding stringent measures against alleged irregularities and corruption in the power sector, Parwar suggested.

He urged the government to take lessons from a recent incident where general people chanted “fraud” slogans targeting a minister only three months into his office.

The government broke public trust in the very beginning of assuming power by spurning the “July Charter” and the referendum verdict that backs the state reform measures enshrined in the document.

In similar manner, the government has been hiking fuel and power prices in the country, piling pressure on strained households, he alleged.