11 February 2005	Friday	01 Muharram 1426

ISLAMABAD, Feb 10: The government on Thursday defended the privatisation of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) as a prudent deal, dismissing fears voiced by the opposition in the Senate.

The opposition voices concern that the government has sold the KESC at a low price and that its new owners would increase power rates or sack employees. However, Privatisation and Investment Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh assured opposition parties that the government would welcome consultation with them in carrying out privatisation that he called a bipartisan process.

"We think we are trying to do the best we can," he said while winding up a debate spanning over two days on an opposition adjournment motion. It was tabled on the sale of 73 per cent KESC shares to a consortium of Saudi Kanooz group and Siemens Pakistan for Rs20.24 billion.

"Whatever we know, we are ready to share with you," the minister added as he also appealed to opposition parties to support the privatisation process like 'true patriots'.

The minister recalled that the privatisation of nationalised units had started in the last days of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and credit went also to the governments of former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. "This is a bipartisan policy which has matured over the years for which each government can take credit."

He described as unfounded the opposition view that the government had accepted a much lower price than it could get for the KESC shares sold for Rs1.65 each.

The minister rejected an opposition allegation that the sale was part of conditionalities of donor agencies, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

"Nobody is working under the World Bank or IMF dictates," he said, adding that the allegation could no longer be valid "because we have graduated from their (aid) programme".

Mr Sheikh said KESC's new management would be bound not to increase its rates for seven years. He pointed out the existing regulatory process under which the rates could be increased only by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra).

The consortium was also bound not to sack any employee for at least one year under an existing arrangement while the government has provided for additional benefits of a 10 per cent increase in the salaries and revival of trade union activities within six months.