Pakistan - PML-N’s promises

More energy woes are awaiting the nation as Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif has given a new deadline of resolving the energy crisis, i.e. 2018. At the ground-breaking ceremony of the 1,180 MW Bhikki Power Plant, the PM said that he had never claimed that he would eliminate power outages in six months. It is no less than tragic that the government has failed to fulfil its promises made by Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leaders during their election campaign in 2013. Being the head of the party, the PM cannot absolve himself of the responsibility by saying he did not make a commitment of six months to end the energy crisis. He needs to take his brother and party leader Mian Shahbaz Sharif, and others, to task for befooling the nation.

 Even if we concede that it was an election gimmick, what about the performance of the PML-N government in the energy sector since coming to power? Recent revelations made by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) and National Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) speak volumes for the government’s performance. Both painted a dismal picture of the performance of all power companies operating in the public and private sectors besides massive irregularities being detected in WAPDA and PEPCO. The power companies not only failed to meet generation, transmission and distribution targets but also sent wrong utility bills to consumers. The AGP and NEPRA are government institutions. Instead of trying to prove their findings wrong, the government needs to mend its ways. The performance of the present government seems worse in the energy sector compared to previous regimes. Long term planning and its proper implementation are what the government has failed to do. What has the government done during its two and a half years tenure? What progress has it achieved in decreasing load shedding in the country? In fact there is no improvement in the energy sector. Rather, the electricity crisis has put many industries on the verge of collapse. Though the setting up of a power plant in Sheikhupura is a good development, it is not enough. The energy crisis requires steps on a war footing, but this has been conspicuous by its absence. Even the Nandipur power project, for which the PML-N roundly castigated the previous government, has failed to take off except in cost multiplication.

The energy crisis is eroding the credibility of the PML-N government. Fingers are being raised at poor governance that has failed to end the sufferings of the masses due to the presence of incompetent ministers. Instead of ending the power crisis, the duration of load shedding has increased. Like the previous PPP government, the electricity crisis can result in the ouster of the Nawaz government. It is in the interests of the government itself that it reconsider its approach and avoid further mismanagement. The electricity crisis has worsened in the country and the government needs to work on a war footing to bring the nation out of darkness.