Promises are given only to be broken

Words are given only to be denied. Prices are hiked never to be slashed. Logics are applied only to be defied. Promises are given only to be broken. Traders promised that they would not hike prices. The promise was given during a meeting between Consumer Rights Directorate, the Commerce Ministry, the Competition Commission, the Tariff Commission, the Food Ministry, various intelligence agencies and businessmen a month before the holy month of Ramadan.

Traders broke their promise. When they gave the promise they knew they were giving the promise only to break it. They knew it was a cat and mouse game being played very often. They also knew in this game cat could never catch the mouse. Still cat plays the game knowing well it can’t catch the mouse. The show is staged only to befool spectators. At one stage of the game trembling excitement of spectators begin to wear off as the game ends in draw. They fell silent. No side wins but ironically at the end of the game it is the silent spectators who lose.

There are commissions after commissions, directorates after directorates and ministries after ministries who are designated to play their parts in controlling price hikes and ensure people’s right to food and living. In 2012 the Competition Commission was formed to prevent, control and eradicate collusion, monopoly and oligopoly. With naked eyes anyone can see that how the entire society is at the mercy of monopoly capital and oligopoly is dominating the business landscape.

The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection is a quasi-judicial government department responsible for hearing and addressing consumers’ complaints over goods and services. It has now become a name-only organization. It has become a toothless tiger. It can only roar but can’t bite anymore. There is also Bangladesh Tariff Commission built to mainly protect the interest of domestic industries. How it is protecting our domestic industry is in everybody’s knowledge.

The Commerce Ministry doesn’t seem to regulate and implement policies applicable to local and foreign trade. The Food Ministry doesn’t seem to formulate national food policy. If they had done so how traders could have broken their promise given to those ministries? Sometimes their roles are dwarfed by the audacity of traders. At the meeting held between the organizations mentioned above and traders the latter promised and broke their promise.

Price of broiler chicken has gone up by Tk15-20 a kg again. Price of egg has also shot up by Tk50 per one hundred in the wholesale market let alone prices of other essential commodities. Before the month of Ramadan started the price of broiler chicken suddenly rose by Tk40-50 a kg. As the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) sent letters to big corporate companies seeking explanation about the sudden price hike of broiler chicken they reduced the price at production level by Tk25-30 a kg before it began to shoot up again.

It is evident from the price cut at production level by the corporate farmers that a syndicate is in operation to squeeze the money out of the pockets of commoners. The syndication in the food sector is well known to the government and people as well. The Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Vice President at a protest rally on March 30 (Thursday) rightly said that dishonest traders had pocketed a huge amount of money from the broiler chicken market through syndication.

He also quoted an unknown source that the Competition Commission had filed cases against the corporate companies that had formed the syndicate. The names of the members of the syndicate have already reached the government. But it is a matter of great sorrow that nobody has been sued or no action has so far been taken against anyone of them. Our experiences from the past say that eventually nothing would happen to those who are responsible for the price manipulation.

Meanwhile, fuel oil prices have come down in the international market. It is steadily dropping but we are yet to see any fall in the prices of power and gas prices in our country. The prices of both oil and natural gas have come down significantly. World economists and observers are attributing this low price of oil and gas to that of milder-than-expected winter and weaker-than-expected demand. Oil price is currently hovering over $75 per barrel, down from $120 in the spring of last year. Natural gas price in Europe is now at an 18-month low. The drop in the prices of oil and gas is expected to limit the global economic downturn this year, especially in Europe.

Against this background of the world oil and gas prices what our Prime Minister’s Energy Advisor said sounded insensible. Acknowledging the fact that prices of petroleum and gas were declining, he said the government would not go for downward adjustment in power and gas tariff until the international market stabilized. He further said it was not clear how long such a declining trend in fuel and prices would continue. If a stable situation comes only then the government will think of downward adjustment.

His statement naturally brought into question the sincerity of the government because several times it had been reiterated from the part of the government high-ups that it would go for downward adjustment as soon as prices of oil and gas dropped in the international market. If they have to wait for the international market prices of oil and gas to stabilize to decide on the downward adjustment then why didn’t they wait to make upward adjustment when the prices had gone up? Why didn’t the Energy Advisor wait for the prices in the international market to stabilize before making an upward adjustment?

The second pertinent question is, as nobody knows when the international market is going to stabilize, how long do we have to wait for that pleasant news of downward adjustment? If we take it for granted that this situation is going to be the same as it is now for one or two months then do we have to pay higher prices for oil and gas for those one or two months? If so, then why and on what logic people are going to pay the penalty and for what crimes they have to do the penance? How long do we have to live the life of penance and mortification?

The writer is a journalist. He can be contacted at maksud.i.rahaman@gmail.com