THE current government has expressed the intention of winding up certain government departments that are doing nothing, are a burden on the national exchequer, and their duties can be taken over by some other departments that are currently underutilised. While the government may have its own list of such entities, there are others that must also be considered in the same vein.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), for instance, is one such organisation that deserves urgent attention. As I see it, the main duty of Nepra is that of a ‘middleman’. It just gets requests from distribution companies, like, say, K-Electric (KE), for increase in power tariff, and the authority after ‘due deliberations’ makes some changes and accepts their demand.

Come to think of it, such a job can easily be done by our housewives who successfully bargain with shopkeepers, who cleverly ask for double the actual price and settle for less. They both live happily thereafter. It is only the husband who suffers just like the consumer suffers as Nepra and KE bargain, settle and live happily hereafter.

Besides, another such department is the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) whose job is to carry out the instructions passed on by the government. That being so, why can the government not do it directly?

There are several other such entities in the public sector that thoroughly deserve immediate government attention. One hopes that they will get what they deserve.

Malik ul Quddoos
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2024