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LAHORE: An eye-opening revelation has been made about the over Rs 500 billion worth of mismanagement and corruption in the power sector during the present government’s tenure.
Saleem Ahmad Siddiqui, Chief Executive of the procurement agency of Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco), has said the government has pumped in Rs 1.3 trillion into the power sector as a subsidy during the last four years, of which over Rs 500 billion were not properly utilised due to mismanagement and corruption.
Delivering a lecture on the Future of Power Sector in Pakistan organised by the Institution of Engineers Pakistan (IEP) on Saturday, Saleem Ahmad, a well-known power sector expert, said that Pakistan was facing a problem of huge power sector circular debt.
He termed the circular debt a termite of the economy, causing huge negative impact.
He also said that burden of circular debt should not be passed on to the consumer but the solution of the problem lay in the recovery from the defaulters. Saleem said that we had the installed capacity of power generation but the problem was that we didn’t have the money to pay thermal units.
Talking about the hydel generation in the country, Saleem said that technically Kalabagh Dam was a better option than Bhasha Dam. He also said that Meteorological Department had forecasted heavy rains this year and if we had the dams then we would be able to save the water of rains. He said that we were facing administrative issues, not the technological issues. He was of the view that our power structure needed proper management and restructuring.
He said the privatisation could help reduce country’s debt burden and would be helpful in creating job opportunities in the country. He also said the government was spending over Rs 300 billion of taxpayer’s money on Private Sector Enterprises’ (PSEs). The public sector has not delivered and the real challenge now is to find the way to increase the efficiency and productivity of loss-making enterprises. Workers and employees should have been empowered by keeping away the political interference in order to improve and strengthen public sector institutions, he added.
Chairman Lahore Region IEP Dr Javed Yunas Uppal, talking about the current situation of privatisation in Pakistan, said the present internal as well external situation was not favourable to launch any privatisation unless people themselves are empowered.
Among others, Vice Chairman IEP Lahore Syed Khalid Sajjad and Secretary IEP Lahore Engineer Amir Zamir Khan also spoke.
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