Power tariffs need to go up, says IMF
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April 15, 2021
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) resident chief in Pakistan, Teresa Daban Sanchez, has said that the government would have to hike electricity tariff to ensure cost recovery of power generation and to grant long overdue autonomy to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in line with the best international practices.
“Pakistan remains committed to the goals of the IMF supported programme and agreed to undertake key reforms of doing away with tax exemptions, elimination of quasi-fiscal circular debt, and SOEs losses,” Sanchez said in a webinar organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Wednesday. “Islamabad committed for market-determined and flexible exchange rate, strengthening of social safety nets and strengthening of institutions through Public Finance Management, SBP’s autonomy and bringing reforms into the energy sector,” she added. The IMF chief said that the Fund provided technical assistance on the autonomy of SBP on the request of the Pakistani authorities and only recommended autonomy keeping in view the best international practices. The IMF, she said, does not give dictates on SBP autonomy.