Pakistan: Electricity theft and politics

Daily Times

There are many sides to the power crisis in the country and partisan politics has now become one of them. Accusations are being hurled from ministers in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) at each other regarding electricity theft. Federal Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali launched a diatribe at a recent press conference against the PTI for providing protection to the looters of electricity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He went on record as saying that there are areas in the province, which is under PTI governance, that have recorded as much as 90 percent electricity losses. He also said that no one was paying any sort of electricity bill under the constituency of the provincial minister for information, Shah Farman, clearly hinting that the minister was providing a shield for electricity thieves. These allegations have reportedly inflamed the PTI, which, to settle scores, had Mr Farman and his aides raid the residence of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) chief. There it was discovered that the chief was receiving electricity in his home through illegal means. This has provided the PTI with enough ammunition against Mr Abid Sher Ali, under whom the PESCO chief serves.

All of this mudslinging and public humiliation really is an unnecessary distraction from the task at hand. The country is going through one of its worst energy crises, with domestic consumers suffering as much as 12 hours of power outages a day. Life and industry have come to a virtual halt but our politicians still cannot get enough of their mutual point scoring. Does the PML-N minister not know that electricity theft is one of the main reasons behind the energy crunch and that the malaise can be found all over the country and not just in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? Individual electricity thieves and bill defaulters are not the problem as they have their power supply cut when discovered. It is the government departments and institutions that resist any sort of payment; they are the real defaulters. The electricity theft problem is much bigger than Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the petty politics of some ministers. A major cleanup operation is required to purge the entire country of electricity theft and default on bills. Deliberately targeting one province or one party is certainly not the answer.