| February 10, 2002 | Sunday | Ziqa’ad 26, 1422 |
Power rates bite, shortage stings: SOCIAL THEMES
THERE should not be the slightest doubt in anyone’s mind that electricity prices and those of other utilities and essentials have a direct bearing on people’s lives, and that as they rise, and as a “blame game” seems to be unfolding, and newspapers debate the issue, its impact on all families is going to be biting. The sting that these rising tariffs bring will make relationships within families sour, and stressful. Where it all already exists, tensions will be created, and let’s leave this point at this stage. We may come back to it later.
BEING forty or a minister, it has been said, does not come naturally to most people. It takes some getting used to. It takes nearly 10 years.
The point, about being forty, probably is the style gap. You are not accustomed to behaving in the manner you are suddenly expected to. Unlike seven, when you start losing milk teeth and are too old to be spared for being tactless; 18, when you qualify for a driving licence and get to vote for the union council; or 21 when you can vote for the National Assembly and marry without a guardian’s approval, no new capabilities or privileges are involved. Certainly nothing physical. And yet, you are expected to be a substantially different person.
Adjusting to new roles is not easy. Some people will hastily dispute this, pointing out that most people settle rather quickly in jobs, marriage, and public office. Well, a distinction has to be made between the changes one had been working for and the ones to which he had no inkling.
Take Dr Khalid Ranjha. A lawyer by training and activist by temperament, he was destined for centre stage and knew that. Success as a professional and community leader came inevitably. Elevated to the Lahore High Court Bench by a caretaker government, he was a perceptive and enlightened judge. When a political government chose to ignore him for confirmation in the High Court job, his legal fraternity responded by electing him in a landslide vote that was seen as something of a peer referendum on his eligibility. Made a minister, the job he was not prepared for, Dr Ranjha is like fish out of water. And not for want of trying, either. He has been attending all the cabinet, committee, technical, official, public meetings; receiving delegates and addressing seminars and defending the government with almost a bigoted zeal. The point is it cannot be done. While Dr Ranjha, the minister, must defend the government policy of courts including army officers, Dr Ranjha, the Bar leader, cannot do so without compromising an illustrious career. No wonder his pleadings on the necessity of such courts have been patently pathetic. His facts — remember, the defendant, not counsel is responsible for them — have been shown to be wrong and his arguments have been bizarre. A case of poor casting.
Take Mian Aamer Mahmood, the city Nazim, felicitated recently by the president himself for his performance. Arguably, the most powerful and high profile city administrator ever, he has devoted himself to the task of removing inefficiencies in city government, deregulating the construction industry, and handing over as much of the social service liabilities to the private sector as it would take. Whoever thought his business success had prepared him for a public role, however, was rudely reminded last week of the need for a second thought. Unaccustomed, like Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, the bureaucrat-made-prime minister to spite the politicians, to slogan chanting protesters, he met his Waterloo at his own District Courts office. Unwilling, like the illustrious Chaudhry to see the protesters, the Mian asked that the doors be bolted and started making distress calls to the police which, much to his annoyance, arrived too late to spare him the indignity of being shouted in his face. An SP has since been charged with negligence, and the protesting lawyers with rowdyism. That the police are in any case poor protection for public leaders who choose to hide from the people, seems to have been lost on both the Nazim and the governor, who later talked of the incident as a security lapse. The Chaudhry had obviously seen the point, and realizing that he was ill matched to the new role by temperament, had resigned.
THE District Courts incident was only the latest protest by city lawyers who have been campaigning against the proposal to set up a school on the historic complex ever since the Nazim made the announcement. Several of them were earlier accused by the police of disorderly conduct when they took out a rally on The Mall to highlight their opposition to the project.
The governor last week described the would-be school as poor man’s Aitchison and pledged support of his provincial government, adding, however, that he had asked the Nazim to settle the matter in consultation with the lawyers.
The lawyers say they are not opposed to the establishment of a quality school for the poor. The objection, so far, has been only to the choice of building. First, they say, a court complex is no less important to the city. The building, is also a Lahore landmark. Second, they point out, there is already a relatively large cluster of purpose built schools in the area. Some of them are even on the Nazim’s list of 35 schools which are to introduce English-medium classes from next year.
The need for an Aitchison-like school, funded by the city government, seems to have been taken for granted, although it is hardly obvious. Consider, the cost. The Nazim announced only last week that his administration had already handed over 52 public schools in the city to individual philanthropists and non-government organizations. Asking for public support earlier, he was reported to have said the government was prepared to hand over all 1,500 public schools, including 300 secondary schools. While he did not supply the statistics, the tuition fee at the new community participation schools is known to be 10 to 20 times that in the government schools. Assuming even that the poor man’s Aitchison costs no more to maintain than the government’s savings from handing over the 52 schools, the cost-benefit ratio makes one queasy. Also, should the government, decided at any point in time to pass some of the costs to the parents, the school will immediately be beyond the reach of the people it was supposed to benefit. On the other hand, if the government has the kind of unwavering commitment it claims to sending at least some of the poor to an Aitchison, what is stopping it from allowing them into Aitchison itself? Those studying at Aitchison can certainly afford other schools.
NEWS from Karachi keeps reminding one that Lahore and the Punjab are nothing like the City of Lights and the Babul Islam. According to the latest report, 80 aliens (immigrants, not the extra-terrestrial) have been elected councillors and Nazims in last year’s polls while the presiding officers disqualified even those who had failed to pay a measly electricity bill. One of the Nazims is a proclaimed offender. Now, in how many decades, can we expect to match that?
Another report says the Karachi Nazim has persuaded the Pakistan Steel management not to sack about 1,000 of its workers, even pay them a Rs2,000 Eid bonus each. A report from the Punjab Civil Secretariat says 15 of its 34 departments might be abolished and nearly half the staff sent to a surplus pool. Sounds like a different country? — ONLOOKER
One would like to begin with the Dawn story of 4th of February which says that “KESC unable to meet power needs.” Which makes one contemplate many things. That the KESC is unable to meet the power needs of the Sindh capital even in winter.
In these days of a mild winter that we have been enjoying. In fact, we are so cheerful on account of the weather, that it doesn’t really matter if there is no electricity all day. But the question is why is this happenings, in winter?
I am just reminded of the years, recent years in a sense, when there was load-shedding in the country, especially in December and January when the argument advanced by Wapda or whoever was that there wasn’t enough water in the Tarbela Dam.
It had something to do with the hydel factor, and the public at large was carefully and at times carelessly explained that they would have to live with this load-shedding for many years.
I was in Lahore during the week and there were power failures and darkness in the evenings, and some Lahoris said that they were worried that with Basant coming, and with the “Jashn-i-Baharan” celebration hype up for the Punjab capital in particular next week, there would be large periods of blackout. Kite power versus electricity. That battle! But perhaps the emotional richness would put the power shortage and the kite flying and catching in the domain of low priority. Emotional fulfilment would be top most consideration. Good.
But as one revisits a biting theme, that is bound to be alive and kicking, and even controversial in the days ahead. Let’s also take notice of what the Wapda chief, Lt-Gen Zulfiqar Ali Khan, said in Karachi, when he was at the inauguration of the KESC customer service centre for Defence Society residents on Saturday last.
He said that “electricity is more expensive in Pakistan than in neighbouring countries,” and the reasons he cited for this included the argument that “Pakistan is one of the countries in which utilities collected general sales tax as well as withholding tax from consumers.” The price of furnace oil and natural gas are other reasons. And the Wapda chief said that if the government were to relieve the KESC and the Wapda of collecting the above taxes power rates would come down.
But right now there are indications that power rates are going to rise for consumers, especially middle-class consumers. A columnist from Lahore has said that it is possible that it will be “Back to the era of candles and kerosene lamps.” There is a symbolism in this, and what is likely to happen as the government withdraws the subsidy on consumers who use more than 1,000 units or more is that people will come under sharper pressure as the power bills rise. It is going to make them spend more on other essentials, and the impact of the spiralling effect is too well known, health and education may get affected?
There seem to be some interesting dimensions to the power shortage and power rates that seem to be factors that will be talked about in 2002. That there will be a shortage of power, also an account of the absence of transmission and distribution infrastructure, and in Karachi commercial centres (Clifton, Defence, Bahadurabad, Garden, PECHS, North Nazimabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal) are going to be pitch dark in the evenings. Does that mean that they will rely on power generators, and which will mean an additional cost, which the dear consumer will pay (Who will protect the interests of the consumer, is a thought that tends to dampen one’s spirits further). That the costs of electricity will rise, as will of other utilities (now there seem to be hidden costs as well), and as the weather turns warmer in the summer, people’s tempers will also rise. (will this be a theme for the general elections that are due this year?)
A report from Lahore in this newspaper on 6th February talked in detail of “Wapda versus Nepra — a tale of two perceptions.” That word “perception” is what is somewhat disturbing to say the least. For the common man’s perception on this theme is that he has been taken for a ride and the managements of the utilities vis-a-vis power have shown a sustained shortsightedness. Even a carelessness? With governmental changes and inconsistency of policies therefore, there have been movements in opposing directions. As one says this thought goes out to the contrast that our urban centres provide. Strange revealing contrasts. That in the richest of areas there are long spells of darkness, and broken streets which make you think of how this unstable society has spent its money. Then there are large well-stocked commercial centres, plazas and towers, with foreign goods, that make you wonder about planning and futurism when these localities plunge into deep darkness, with regularity.
And as one has come from Lahore this week the opulence and glamour of its commercial areas, particularly those adjacent to the large fashionable residential areas, reflected the direction in which this country’s rich are taking it. That this is happening in Karachi (what else is Defence and Clifton about, asks a cynic) is something that is obvious.
Anyway returning to the Wapda-Nepra theme it is highlighted therein that the domestic consumers are covered by subsidy as long as the consumption is up to 9,99 units (Price Rs4.40 a unit), it is the 1,000 units plus who will pay Rs6.7 a unit. The other details are worrying as there is talk of arrears also, beginning August 2001. (I have never heard of financial arrears that would benefit the majority. Have you?)
In all this the bottom line appears to be that not only will electricity be expensive in the months ahead, its supply will be erratic, and the managements of these utilities will have a tough frustrating time communicating to a disbelieving public, a class driven made by a whole of frustrations and deprivations. Exasperating, really.