| 09 October 2004 | Saturday | 23 Shaban 1425 |
Thar power project
Regulators' responsibilities
Even though Turkey has been given a qualified 'yes' for entry talks, its full membership of the European Union appears by no means to be a certainty. The landmark decision came on Wednesday when Mr Romano Prodi, chairman of the European Commission, gave Turkey credit for reforms but added that this "credit is not a blank cheque".
The final decision about starting entry negotiations will be taken by the EU summit in December, and even if a 'yes' decision is taken, the negotiations are likely to be tough.
In fact, the European Commission has warned that the talks will not be open-ended and that negotiations could be suspended if Ankara was found wanting on reforms.
Already, Turkey has come a long way and undertaken vital reforms to come up to the EU standards. The death penalty has been abolished, the Kurdish minority has been given its cultural rights, restrictions on democratic freedoms have been lifted, and the role of the military in politics has been curtailed. But the EU feels that Turkey needs more reforms, especially with regard to the penal code, the war on terror and trade union rights. The truth is that Turkey's Muslim credentials are a major impediment in the way of its membership.
In the past, the EU had genuine reasons for refusing to begin entry negotiations. However, since the government headed by Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power, Turkey has moved fast towards reforms.
Besides the abolition of the death penalty and the grant of rights to the Kurdish minority, his government has changed the National Security Council into an advisory body, headed by a civilian to be nominated by the president.
This has circumscribed the generals' role in politics. Yet nothing seems to satisfy the EU, for the executive heads meeting each year in December postpone entry negotiations.
The main opposition to Turkey's membership comes from Germany, while the French position has of late undergone some change. President Jacques Chirac now seems in favour of Turkey's entry, but opinion in many EU countries remains opposed to the idea.
The EU now has to decide whether it wants the 25-member union to remain a Christian club. If admitted into Europe, Turkey will be the EU's second biggest country in terms of population.
This will give Ankara more votes than all others but Germany. The latter already has a large Turkish immigrant community. Berlin fears that Turkey's membership could open floodgates of immigrants from that country. These fears are justified, but there are advantages too from Turkey's membership.
Turkey's is Europe's fastest-growing economy, and it has a largely young population which will not have the pension problem that is bothering the EU. Turkey's geographical location is also an asset.
In the Middle East as well as Europe, Turkey has Nato's second largest army. A Turkey militarily and economically strong will be an asset for Europe in a turbulent region.
Its membership will also help in resolving the Cyprus problem. More important, Turkey could serve as a bridge between Europe and the Muslim world at a time when the talk of a clash of civvilizations has become a fad. Also at stake is the EU's own credibility. If Turkey comes up to its standards and is still denied membership, the EU will expose itself to the charge of succumbing to religious prejudice.
Thar power project
The government's decision to lay power transmission lines to facilitate the working of the coal power project in the remote Tharparkar district should be seen as timely.
The move comes after the Chinese Shenhua group building the one-billion-dollar power plant there threatened to pull out unless transmission lines were laid and proper facilities provided to help advance its work.
The decision is also in line with the prime minister's commitment made last month to the people of the impoverished district, promising a comprehensive uplift package for them.
Developing the huge coal deposits that the district has will help better the lot of the people there who have been neglected for too long. If carried out thoughtfully and with proper planning, this will be the right approach to sustainable development of the far-flung areas.
One hopes that the government has learnt a lesson from the failure of the Saindak project in Balochistan which, not too long ago, fell victim to the apathy shown by Islamabad, forcing the Chinese firm engaged there to leave in frustration.
It is not clear what the prime minister's promised uplift package for Tharparkar will contain, but one hopes that it will include both short and long-term socio-economic development measures.
Owing to its inhospitable topography, lack of water and basic infrastructure, Thar has remained one of the least developed areas of the country. The coal power plant being built there with the Chinese assistance can help jumpstart the process of development. But a word of caution is in order here: to avoid a repeat of a Gwadar-like situation in Thar, the government must ensure from the start that the local workforce is given preference over the outsiders.
Unless the local people have a sizable share in the employment opportunities that will be generated by the planned development projects, the latter will risk becoming controversial. For this, the government must also invest in setting up technical institutes in the district. This will help impart training and develop a skilled workforce by the time the power plant and other projects are launched.
Regulators' responsibilities
The conduct of regulatory bodies in Pakistan understandably came in for some criticism during a seminar in Islamabad the other day. To play a more effective role in protecting the rights of consumers, it was said that they needed greater independence, increased powers, the government respecting their autonomy and these being held accountable to parliament.
Unfortunately, in practice, most regulatory bodies have failed to perform their due role of safeguarding the public interest. Take the case of the Pakistan Telecom Authority, which is supposed to ensure reliable and affordable service for telephone and Internet users.
While prices have come down, mainly because of increased competition, quality of service continues to be poor. In a bid to grab customers, companies have not bothered to increase the capacity of their networks to cope with the expanded customer base. As a result, connectivity (for both mobile phone and Internet users) has suffered.
As for PEMRA, it has the misconception that its role is not to ensure quality of service or safeguard the rights of cable TV subscribers but to become a guardian of public morality and shut down channels on a vague notion of vulgarity.
NEPRA and OGRA, the power and gas regulator, respectively, have often seemed powerless to do anything in the interest of consumers. The power and gas companies are supposed to obtain from either permission to raise tariffs.
In some cases, their requests have been turned down initially, but can be obtained with the intercession of the government. Even the Monopoly Control Authority has been toothless in persuading the cement manufacturers' cartel to lower prices (despite a cut in central excise duty in the 2004-05 budget).
The fact of the matter is that making the regulatory bodies accountable to parliament will not necessarily improve their working. They have sufficient powers as it is to safeguard the public interest and the key lies in exercising them judiciously and courageously, in the public interest, and to not be too beholden to the government.