KARACHI: President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Mohammed Tariq Yousuf, while referring to the National Energy Conservation Plan approved by Federal Cabinet under the Chairmanship of PM Shehbaz Sharif, stated that the business community fully understands the need for taking energy conservation measures to deal with rising circular debt but the decision to close down shops and restaurants by 8:00PM was totally impractical particularly in case of Karachi city where the business activities start off in the afternoon while the peak shopping hours were in between 7:00PM to 10:00PM.
“Moreover, it is also a well-known fact that most of the Karachiites go out for dinner after 9:00PM so the decision to close restaurants at 8:00PM was not practical at all, hence, the government must take ground realities into consideration before taking such decisions so that the businesses could not suffer”, he said, adding that the Karachi Chamber should have been consulted prior to implementing this decision so that mutually agreed timings could have been finalized to avoid confusion and any kind of resistance.
In a statement issued, President KCCI said that the Karachi Chamber firmly believes in taking energy conservation measures but these should not be taken by staking local businesses who were already battling for survival in the ongoing era of inflation in which sales and profitability has come down to half or may be more for all types of businesses.
“We, as nation must understand and support the good causes, steps and intentions of the government including the decision to provide work-from-home-facility to 20 percent government employees, solarization of government buildings, introduction of electric bikes, efficient light bulbs and fans, use of conical baffle in geysers which would certainly save billions of rupees but at the same time, the government must also understand the peculiarities and dynamics of Karachi where the decision to shut down businesses by 8:00PM simply cannot be implemented as it would prove disastrous not only for businesses but also for the economy. “Reduced business activities due to limited timings would obviously decrease the income and subsequently, the national and provincial exchequers would lose substantial amount of revenue being collected as Sales Tax and other levies. In this scenario, the economy will not be able to save much funds through conservation but would certainly lose huge amount of taxes due to reduced business activities”, he opined.
He said that a similar decision was also taken in the past when the business timing was reduced to 8:00PM that led to bringing many businesses at the verge of bankruptcy so the then government enhanced timings to 10:00PM and the same can be confirmed by relevant notifications issued in the past. “We need not to repeat history that would be a futile exercise, therefore, the lawmakers are requested to save businesses and the economy from more woes.”
Keeping in view the repercussions of reduced business timings for shops and restaurants, President KCCI fervently appealed Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and all members of the federal cabinet to review this decision as it was neither in favor of businesses nor the economy. “Instead of shutting down at 8:00PM, a relaxation of at least two more hours be given to shopkeepers and restaurants who must be allowed to stay operational till 10:00 PM”, he demanded.
