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Words into megawatts
Thursday, May 20, 2010
S Khalid Husain
If the words on the power crisis spewed by the PPP ministers and its spokespersons, and the unprintable words used by the public, could be converted into megawatts, the country would have electricity coming out of its ears, instead of all the high-decibel twaddle on Thar coal, RPPs, wind power, going in.
The absence of clear steps taken by the PPP government to overcome the power crisis, and with the government being no more a spring chicken but getting long in the tooth, has given rise to differing views and attitudes on why the government has proven to be such a dunce in resolving the power crisis.
The first view, or attitude, is of people who have a vested interest or stake in the longevity of the present government. These are the ones who have a "maama" or "chaacha" in the cabinet, or in parliament. A "maama" and "chaacha" can also be someone who is a friend, a contact, someone indebted for past favours, and others who can influence the granting of consultancies and contracts, and dispense other beneficial derivatives of power.
No one should be surprised if people with vested interests or stakeholders in the present government come out with wacky reasons to defend the government's non-performance. For the indefensible can only be defended with wacky reasons. In this instance, the reason is that this government will have to spend its first term in clearing the muck left behind by Musharraf's government.
This reason may have worked if the muck was seen being cleared instead of increasing day by day. As always, wacky reasons attract wacky responses. In this case, what the vested interest holders should have said is that "this government will have to spend its first term in clearing the muck left behind by the previous government, before it begins to create its own."
There is another view, or attitude, said to be originating from the two Aiwans, and entirely shared by the courtiers. This view is protective of Raja Pervez Ashraf and Salman Farooqi, both seen as key players in the government's electric power game, against murmurings within the party for their removal. Raja Pervez Ashraf is famous for his "no load-shedding after December 2009" statement while Salman Farooqi is known for the daylong extravaganza he conducted on PTV during the PPP's second government in the 1990s, when a Hong Kong-based coal tycoon signed an agreement for the setting up of coal-fired power plants in Thar.
Thar can be rightly termed as the El Dorado of energy and power, and all that is needed to get to the wealth which is buried in Thar and utilise it for the benefit of the masses is a daring approach. Raja Pervez Ashraf, the man in charge of energy and power, and Syed Qaim Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh, could be the people to do it. They can team up to restore the Thar coal project.
Raja Pervez Ashraf seems to have acquired useful understanding, in all its manifestations, of the rental power plants, which is invaluable, especially the "in all its manifestations" bit. As for Salman Farooqi, if there was a mix-up within the PPP government of that time, following his TV extravaganza due to the imported coal the Hong Kong tycoon had in mind for his coal-fired power plants, and the Thar coal, it is no more. The present PPP government, of which Salman Farooqi is a key advisor, has understood that the two are different; that Thar is in Pakistan, and its coal is not imported. In view of the valuable experience that Pervez Ashraf and Salman Farooqi have acquired, the Aiwans and the courtiers seem to agree that it would be unwise to change horses in midstream.
The third view, or attitude, is that if there was no electronic media there would be no load-shedding, or it would not be as bad as it is now. There would also be effective, visible actions underway to overcome the power crisis in minimum time. The holders of this attitude believe that the rulers are not at all anxious to end load-shedding and the uncertain power supply.
The rulers, the holders of this view say, have concluded that, thanks to the feudal, tribal, extremist, fundamentalist and other retrogressive elements who created, and ensured the continuation of illiteracy in Pakistan, the print media is restricted to the literate chattering classes. These classes drown their pain in distressing copy, which has a nuisance value, but is no threat to the source of pain.
The real McCoys, or the anit-biotic for the source of pain, are the illiterate, suffering, deprived, exploited people living in terrible conditions in shanty towns and katchi abadis in the urban centres or in the rural areas. It is these people, who cannot read, who are the most potent threat. They have to be watched.
The government is anxious to make sure that this potent threat has as little access to the electronic media as it can contrive. The good Raja, who is the minister for minimising such access, is doing an admirable job. So is Mr Farooqi, who is on a never-ending hunt for illusive alternative energy sources.
Any rumours of their replacement appear to be grossly exaggerated.
The writer is a former corporate executive. Email: husainsk@cyber.net.pk
Thursday, May 20, 2010
S Khalid Husain
If the words on the power crisis spewed by the PPP ministers and its spokespersons, and the unprintable words used by the public, could be converted into megawatts, the country would have electricity coming out of its ears, instead of all the high-decibel twaddle on Thar coal, RPPs, wind power, going in.
The absence of clear steps taken by the PPP government to overcome the power crisis, and with the government being no more a spring chicken but getting long in the tooth, has given rise to differing views and attitudes on why the government has proven to be such a dunce in resolving the power crisis.
The first view, or attitude, is of people who have a vested interest or stake in the longevity of the present government. These are the ones who have a "maama" or "chaacha" in the cabinet, or in parliament. A "maama" and "chaacha" can also be someone who is a friend, a contact, someone indebted for past favours, and others who can influence the granting of consultancies and contracts, and dispense other beneficial derivatives of power.
No one should be surprised if people with vested interests or stakeholders in the present government come out with wacky reasons to defend the government's non-performance. For the indefensible can only be defended with wacky reasons. In this instance, the reason is that this government will have to spend its first term in clearing the muck left behind by Musharraf's government.
This reason may have worked if the muck was seen being cleared instead of increasing day by day. As always, wacky reasons attract wacky responses. In this case, what the vested interest holders should have said is that "this government will have to spend its first term in clearing the muck left behind by the previous government, before it begins to create its own."
There is another view, or attitude, said to be originating from the two Aiwans, and entirely shared by the courtiers. This view is protective of Raja Pervez Ashraf and Salman Farooqi, both seen as key players in the government's electric power game, against murmurings within the party for their removal. Raja Pervez Ashraf is famous for his "no load-shedding after December 2009" statement while Salman Farooqi is known for the daylong extravaganza he conducted on PTV during the PPP's second government in the 1990s, when a Hong Kong-based coal tycoon signed an agreement for the setting up of coal-fired power plants in Thar.
Thar can be rightly termed as the El Dorado of energy and power, and all that is needed to get to the wealth which is buried in Thar and utilise it for the benefit of the masses is a daring approach. Raja Pervez Ashraf, the man in charge of energy and power, and Syed Qaim Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh, could be the people to do it. They can team up to restore the Thar coal project.
Raja Pervez Ashraf seems to have acquired useful understanding, in all its manifestations, of the rental power plants, which is invaluable, especially the "in all its manifestations" bit. As for Salman Farooqi, if there was a mix-up within the PPP government of that time, following his TV extravaganza due to the imported coal the Hong Kong tycoon had in mind for his coal-fired power plants, and the Thar coal, it is no more. The present PPP government, of which Salman Farooqi is a key advisor, has understood that the two are different; that Thar is in Pakistan, and its coal is not imported. In view of the valuable experience that Pervez Ashraf and Salman Farooqi have acquired, the Aiwans and the courtiers seem to agree that it would be unwise to change horses in midstream.
The third view, or attitude, is that if there was no electronic media there would be no load-shedding, or it would not be as bad as it is now. There would also be effective, visible actions underway to overcome the power crisis in minimum time. The holders of this attitude believe that the rulers are not at all anxious to end load-shedding and the uncertain power supply.
The rulers, the holders of this view say, have concluded that, thanks to the feudal, tribal, extremist, fundamentalist and other retrogressive elements who created, and ensured the continuation of illiteracy in Pakistan, the print media is restricted to the literate chattering classes. These classes drown their pain in distressing copy, which has a nuisance value, but is no threat to the source of pain.
The real McCoys, or the anit-biotic for the source of pain, are the illiterate, suffering, deprived, exploited people living in terrible conditions in shanty towns and katchi abadis in the urban centres or in the rural areas. It is these people, who cannot read, who are the most potent threat. They have to be watched.
The government is anxious to make sure that this potent threat has as little access to the electronic media as it can contrive. The good Raja, who is the minister for minimising such access, is doing an admirable job. So is Mr Farooqi, who is on a never-ending hunt for illusive alternative energy sources.
Any rumours of their replacement appear to be grossly exaggerated.
The writer is a former corporate executive. Email: husainsk@cyber.net.pk
