It is disturbing to note that the prices of essential commodities have gone up by 80-100 percent during the month of Ramzan. The spike in the prices of flour and vegetables — essential staples for the poor — has been a double jolt to them. This is not the first time that the prices of food have gone up during Ramzan. Every year the practice is followed without any intervention from the government in spite of making promises to provide relief to the people during the holy month. Ramzan has therefore acquired the label of the month of profiteering for hoarders. The lamentable part of the story is that the government has been unable to manage the markets at the local level. Part of the problem is the absence of local governments, while the rest of the onus falls on the administrative structure manned by the DCO that has failed to evolve a price control mechanism. The government — perhaps as a psychological necessity — takes reformatory steps every year to control inflation during Ramzan, but the effort never moves beyond lip service. From the data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the prices of tomatoes have increased by 38.20 percent, onions 14.15 percent, bananas 5.21 percent, potatoes 3.55 percent and sugar 1.18 percent during last week. The Sastay (cheap) Ramzan bazaars set up by the government in different areas are selling substandard and below quality products at higher rates. Meanwhile the Rs five billion Ramzan relief package announced by the government has been unable to bring relief to the poor consumers because of relentless inflation and the failure of the relief to reach all segments of society. During the hearing of a suo motu case on the government’s inability to provide food at affordable rates, Justice Jawad S Khawaja of the Supreme Court said that the country is self-sufficient in food production and yet people are dying of hunger. On the one hand the government wants to provide a network of roads and buses to facilitate the people and on the other it is oblivious to their basic food needs. This paradox reflects deep confusion in the government’s perceptions and priorities. On the eve of Ramzan, Punjab Food Minister Bilal Yaseen said that implementation of a price control mechanism will be ensured during Ramzan and 1,450 magistrates will monitor the process. Though the government has been unable to ensure the flow of goods at reasonable prices, the least it could do is sack non-performing officials as a warning to all officialdom that they will not be allowed to play with the people’s lives during at least Ramzan. *