The Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali accused Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of escalating line losses, to the tune of 157 billion rupees, which he claimed accounted for enhanced loadshedding. He accused the provincial government of its inability to maintain law and order and ensure safety of local electricity infrastructure during loadshedding. This comes in the wake of his earlier tirade against Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) and his contention that it has been getting more electricity from the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) than agreed with the federal government, a charge that he failed to substantiate with the release of data. And KESC has denied this charge vehemently. The minister needs to put up or shut up. It is difficult to condone such overt verbal attacks against energy companies operating in two provinces by a federal government junior minister who, as a first-time minister of state, must be made aware that his primary responsibility is to ensure amicable intra-governmental coordination which is being compromised by his recent irresponsible statements. The importance and need for federal-provincial harmony is more enhanced after the 18th Constitutional Amendment than ever before. The sine qua non for provision of Council of Common Interest in the constitution is essentially for facilitating and augmenting the phenomenon of a cordial working relationship between the provinces and the federation.
The only ostensible motive for Abid Sher Ali's attacks against KESC and Peshawar Electric Supply Corporation (Pesco) appears sadly to be political. The PML-N has been traditionally supported by the country's business community in general and Faisalabad's in particular because of the party's pro-business manifesto. However, there is a general consensus within the business community today that the 2013-14 budgetary tax measures and policies relating to the power sector, including the massive hike in energy rates for the industrial/business sector, are anti-business which, analysts maintain, account for the PML(N) candidate's defeat in PP-72 in by-elections, PP-72 is a constituency in Abid Sher Ali's hometown, Faisalabad and consists mainly of businessmen and traders which had been a PML-N stronghold for 20 years. If however he feels that by attacking KESC and Pesco/KP government he can somehow salvage the party's standing in Faisalabad then he is sadly mistaken: PP-72 has already voted against the incumbent government's policies and the PML-N has another four and a half years to convince the constituency that it will deliver on its manifesto. However, the government has begun to cut off electricity from those areas where the percentage of unpaid bills is high and it is restored only after an agreement on the repayment schedule is made. But while this action can be supported yet bad mouthing public sector companies and provincial governments in public with the objective of seeking political mileage in one's home constituency cannot be supported. Be that as it may, Peshawar Electric Supply Corporation (Pesco) is a poorly performing Disco and its privatisation, together with that of other profitable Discos including Lahore and Islamabad, is in the pipeline and the government has already committed to this in the Letter of Intent (LoI) submitted to the International Monetary Fund under the 6.64 billion dollar Extended Fund Facility. Abid Sher Ali would be well advised to look at the LoI where it stipulates that the government has "identified a number of other companies that can quickly be privatised in the financial and energy sector... in the medium-term energy companies can also be included among the companies to be privatised." At first glance, this appears contradictory and Abid Sher Ali may better spend his time discussing with his cabinet colleagues whether energy companies will be quickly privatised or privatised in the medium-term.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Pakistan: The PML-N's loudmouth,Minister for Water & Power needs to Shut Up.
The Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali accused Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of escalating line losses, to the tune of 157 billion rupees, which he claimed accounted for enhanced loadshedding. He accused the provincial government of its inability to maintain law and order and ensure safety of local electricity infrastructure during loadshedding. This comes in the wake of his earlier tirade against Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) and his contention that it has been getting more electricity from the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) than agreed with the federal government, a charge that he failed to substantiate with the release of data. And KESC has denied this charge vehemently. The minister needs to put up or shut up. It is difficult to condone such overt verbal attacks against energy companies operating in two provinces by a federal government junior minister who, as a first-time minister of state, must be made aware that his primary responsibility is to ensure amicable intra-governmental coordination which is being compromised by his recent irresponsible statements. The importance and need for federal-provincial harmony is more enhanced after the 18th Constitutional Amendment than ever before. The sine qua non for provision of Council of Common Interest in the constitution is essentially for facilitating and augmenting the phenomenon of a cordial working relationship between the provinces and the federation.
The only ostensible motive for Abid Sher Ali's attacks against KESC and Peshawar Electric Supply Corporation (Pesco) appears sadly to be political. The PML-N has been traditionally supported by the country's business community in general and Faisalabad's in particular because of the party's pro-business manifesto. However, there is a general consensus within the business community today that the 2013-14 budgetary tax measures and policies relating to the power sector, including the massive hike in energy rates for the industrial/business sector, are anti-business which, analysts maintain, account for the PML(N) candidate's defeat in PP-72 in by-elections, PP-72 is a constituency in Abid Sher Ali's hometown, Faisalabad and consists mainly of businessmen and traders which had been a PML-N stronghold for 20 years. If however he feels that by attacking KESC and Pesco/KP government he can somehow salvage the party's standing in Faisalabad then he is sadly mistaken: PP-72 has already voted against the incumbent government's policies and the PML-N has another four and a half years to convince the constituency that it will deliver on its manifesto. However, the government has begun to cut off electricity from those areas where the percentage of unpaid bills is high and it is restored only after an agreement on the repayment schedule is made. But while this action can be supported yet bad mouthing public sector companies and provincial governments in public with the objective of seeking political mileage in one's home constituency cannot be supported. Be that as it may, Peshawar Electric Supply Corporation (Pesco) is a poorly performing Disco and its privatisation, together with that of other profitable Discos including Lahore and Islamabad, is in the pipeline and the government has already committed to this in the Letter of Intent (LoI) submitted to the International Monetary Fund under the 6.64 billion dollar Extended Fund Facility. Abid Sher Ali would be well advised to look at the LoI where it stipulates that the government has "identified a number of other companies that can quickly be privatised in the financial and energy sector... in the medium-term energy companies can also be included among the companies to be privatised." At first glance, this appears contradictory and Abid Sher Ali may better spend his time discussing with his cabinet colleagues whether energy companies will be quickly privatised or privatised in the medium-term.
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