ISLAMABAD- Former President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt on Sunday said profiteers and hoarders have hijacked the system and taken the people as hostage.
Inflation continues to rise while all relevant departments, including the Price Monitoring Committees, have become ineffective, he said.
The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) can play a role to provide relief to the masses by breaking monopolies and discouraging collusion among business groups but it has been kept toothless, he added.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that CCP was established on the insistence of World Bank in 2007 to ensure fair play but it was never empowered to play its role in an effective manner making this institution a burden on the exchequer.
A toothless CCP is against the very reason behind its existence and it is blocking the improvement in the business environment but it suits the influential mafia.
He noted that since 2007, billions of rupees have been spent on the CCP but it has failed to protect the interests of the consumers as the most influential people in the country are patronizing the cartels.
The CCP faces political pressure whenever it takes action against any mafia and it has been kept financially dependent.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that in the first eight years of its existence, it imposed fines of over Rs.26 billion on various business sectors but it recovered only Rs.230 million due to weak laws.
The influential sector against which the CCP imposes fines get a stay order from the court and these cases remain pending for years.
He said that on one hand the Governments keep crying over inflation and on the other politicians do not allow any institution to protect the interests of the people.
