Share this story!            

Saifullah admits PML-Q failed to deliver consistent energy policy

* Says Kalabagh Dam was subjected to political controversy
* Accuses government of not taking power issue seriously

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Senator Salim Saifullah on Monday acknowledged the previous government’s failure for implementing a sustainable and consistent energy policy.

Speaking at a seminar “Energy Crisis: Strategies to Overcome”, organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, he regretted that Kalabagh Dam had been subjected to political controversy despite the fact that hydroelectricity is the cheapest mode to generate power. Saifullah said the cost of power generation from Tarbela was not more than two paisas per unit, and the NWFP was getting royalty for profit from the dam, but the province faced a problem of payment from the federation. He said the concept of rental power plants had been envisaged during the Shaukat Aziz government, adding that the main issue in the country was “trust deficit and incompetence of departments”. He said the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) was not an organisation for the 21st century, adding that corruption was rampant in the energy sector. “How long we will continue to run in circle, nobody knows,” he said, added that the present government was also making similar mistakes.

Not serious: Saifullah, who is also a member of Senate’s Standing Committee on Water and Power, said the power issue was related to the future of the nation, but the government was not taking it seriously. He said the acting chairpersons were heading eight electricity distribution companies. They included four retired army generals who had no experience and expertise in the power crisis or development, he said.

Speakers at the seminar warned that water would become an important issue in the future due to the growing scarcity, and the government should consider building big dams to save water and generate electricity. They said the issue of dams could not be resolved until the trust deficit among provinces and the federation was removed. The speakers said old WAPDA and Independent Power Plant generators could be repaired with a small investment, but the governments had been more focused on setting up new power-generation units. Moazzam S Bhatti of the SDPI criticised government functionaries for not turning up when invited to discus policy matters. “When the same people are not in the government, they discuss the policy issues and try to give suggestions,” Bhatti said. Participants of the seminar also referred to the failure of the previous government to build large dams and developing consensus over the Kalabagh Dam. Responding to a question, Saifullah said former NWFP governor Gen (r) Fazle Haq made the Kalabagh Dam a controversial issue during the Zia regime.

Home | National

Share this story!