AFTER a full year of criticism that while it had stabilised the economy it had offered no vision for reform, the government is finally moving. A string of recent announcements makes the reform path clearer. Refineries are being asked to upgrade their operations in return for concessions granted in the Brownfield Refinery Upgradation Policy. A number of power distribution companies are being prepared for privatisation, and the ministry has announced the beginning of power wheeling, an important reform stuck in limbo since 2017 and an essential plank in any effort to reform power pricing.

The finance ministry is helping arrange resources for the refineries and the newly privatised PIA, as well as moving along the commitments for the Reko Diq project. A meeting between the finance minister and officials from the US Exim Bank was wrongly interpreted by many as an effort by the government to borrow on behalf of the newly privatised PIA for aircraft procurement. It turned out to be nothing of the sort. Meanwhile, March saw a spectrum auction, setting the stage for the rollout of 5G telecommunications in Pakistan; unlike the last auction in 2021, which saw a lacklustre response, three large telecoms participated and picked up spectrum at a price tag of $500 million.

So things are finally beginning to move on the structural front. Obviously, it is too early to call the results, but if the envisioned changes behind these actions bear fruit, reform momentum can certainly start to build.........

© Dawn