News:

From January 20-25, 2015, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) held a public hearing on wholesale electricity price shuffle following a proposal from the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) to raise the tariff by 18.12 per cent or Taka 0.85 per unit (from the existing Taka 4.67 to Taka 5.52 per kwh). Also another public hearing will be held by BERC on February on increasing the tariff of gas. During the hearings, the technical evaluation committee of the BERC also recommended raising the bulk power tariff of electricity and gas for all types of consumers, significantly at household level, with a supposed view to reducing wastage.

Comment:

The key premise in the government's proposal to increase the electricity price is to bring down BPDB's subsidy from existing Taka 6000 crores to Taka 4000 crores if BERC considers raising bulk tariff by Taka 0.85 per unit or 18.12 percent. And to have a correct view with proper context, it should be noted that BPDB purchases power from the profit-mongering oil-based quick rental power plants (QRPP). The very high power purchase cost of BPDB stands Taka at 17.06 per unit and at Taka 27.91 per unit from diesel-fired project.  Amid popular discontent and protest, the Hasina government went for the costlier option of quick rental power plants only to satiate the capitalists' greed for constant profit maximization. On the one hand, these private rental plants could not solve the deteriorating power crisis; on the other, this oppressive Hasina regime has been allowing these companies to maintain their profit margins by continuously raising the retail price paid by the consumers, let alone the fact that these quick-rentals have already bagged billions of dollars through corruption.

To add more, the entire power sector of Bangladesh including the private rental plants runs with vast inefficiency, which created a significant financial burden that is being imposed upon the ill-fated mass people. Even after committing crime by handing over the power sector to private firms for making profit out of it, this government never seriously addressed their inefficiencies and corruptions with proper interventions and rather kept on giving subsidy to those incompetent plants. Energy experts have underlined several times that almost 80% of the imported machineries in these plants are outdated and mostly second-hand and thus resulted in fuel consumption inefficiencies. Ignoring these obvious facts, more than Taka 40,000 crores in subsidy has been awarded to these quick rentals till now by the government.

Previously when the government was continuously increasing the oil price at retail level, it always said the oil prices had remained high (more than USD 100 a barrel in 2012) on the international market for which they were bound to make necessary adjustments accordingly. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith had stated earlier that oil price would be adjusted to the prices on the international market. And since 2013 the price of oil has been falling drastically and last month it plummeted to a record low at USD 40 per barrel, whereas now the minister has shamelessly dismissed possibility of cutting fuel price in the country and rather the government proposed another round of price hike!! Such hike in electricity price will further fuel inflationary pressure on the economy to make the lives of low, middle and fixed income group consumers more miserable.

Oh Muslims of Bangladesh!

The continuous increase of electricity and fuel price highlights the depth of corruption "crony capitalism" has brought into this country where we are being unfairly scapegoated with the help of ruthless democratic politicians. Bangladesh is blessed with immense natural resources but still the people are living miserable lives while some greedy capitalists are making their fortune in cahoots with the politicians. This only happens because we are letting these rulers surrender our resources like oil, gas and natural resources to private ownership in the name of the free market economy, whereas Islam declared these resources as public property, which is to be sold to the public without profiteering. RasulAllah (saw) said:

«الْمُسْلِمُونَ شُرَكَاءُ فِي ثَلَاثٍ: فِي الْمَاءِ وَالْكَلَإِ وَالنَّارِ، وَثَمَنُهُ حَرَامٌ»

"Muslims are partners in three things: in water, pastures and fire and its price is Haram (forbidden)." (Abu Dawood)

Since the abolishment of the Khilafah "Caliphate" in 1924, time and again it is being proven that there is literally no hope for Muslims under this rotten capitalist democratic system of greed, exploitation and injustice. How long will you be the harvesters of your own sorrow by participating in this democratic ruling system that produces the despotic rulers like Hasina and Khaleda? Or what difference it would make if a new government other than Awami-BNP comes through a fair election but keeps on doing the Haraam act of privatizing energy resources? Will they be implementing anything other than the same man-made laws? Therefore, come forward with steadfastness to support Hizb ut Tahrir to end the oppressive Democratic system and establish the promised system of Khilafah "Caliphate" which is based on the method of Prophethood.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by

Imadul Amin

Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir

in Wilayah Bangladesh