KARACHI, Aug 3: Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) are bringing out detailed documents in the next couple of weeks on privatisation with particular reference to the scandalous deal of Pakistan Steel on March 31.
After being annulled by a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court on June 23, Pakistan Steel was again put under the privatisation hammer by the Council of Common Interest (CCI) on Wednesday. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
The CCI’s decision on Wednesday to put Pakistan Steel, and more than two dozen public sector entities on privatisation agenda, is being termed by political leaders, trade union activists and businessmen as offering family silver in a wholesale by a government that has failed to control budgetary gap and trade deficit.
“Why the government did not wait for a detailed judgment of the Supreme Court before taking any decision on the privatisation of Pakistan Steel?” they asked. Another question raised by them was why had the CCI skipped more pressing inter-provincial issues like the distribution of water among provinces, construction of Kalabagh dam and the issues of provincial autonomy with reference to Balochistan. In the 2006-07 budget, the federal government had stipulated Rs75 billion (more than $1 billion) income from privatisation.
“It is amazing,” Naveed Qamar, a PPP MNA who is a former Chairman of the Privatisation Commission remarked when asked to comment on the CCI decision to put the Steel Mill back on privatisation programme. “The government should have at least waited for the detailed judgment of the Supreme Court before deciding to re-privatise Pakistan Steel,” he said and pointed out that the court’s short order had not only suggested a prior approval of the CCI for privatization but has also questioned the whole process.
“We are bringing out a document on privatization by next week,” the PPP leader said, adding that the paper would compare the process and methodology adopted in privatisation during the past couple of years and the process taken up in previous years. Naveed Qamar was imprisoned on charges of irregularities as the chairman of the Privatisation Commission which however, never established.
Khawaja Asif, a PML (N) firebrand legislator, said that his party was coming out with a white paper on privatisation to focus on “flaws and black spots on privatization transactions during present military-led government”.
He is all for privatization of Pakistan Steel but through “a transparent process to secure the best possible price to an investor who make this unit a useful manufacturing entity that may contribute to the national economy’’.
“There should be no investment on refurbishing and revamping of Pakistan Steel,” he made it clear while maintaining that any investment for revamping of Pakistan Steel would give opportunity to a few corrupt and unscrupulous army and civil bureaucrats to make a quick buck.
Khawaja Asif, a member of the Standing Committee on Privatisation of the National Assembly, complained that no meeting of the committee had been called despite his repeated notices. “I intend to raise this issue in the next session of National Assembly,” he said. He, too, had been a chairman of Privatisation Commission and was imprisoned without any charges being established against him.
Chairman of the Pakistan Steel Lt-Gen (retd) Abdul Qayum could not be contacted despite repeated telephone calls at his office on Wednesday.
“Supreme Court’s judgment might have shown this way to the government,” Taj Haider, a former PPP senator said, adding that the PPP’s Karachi Coordination Committee had decide in its meeting on July 10 to take up a few more cases of privatisation transactions for judicial review.
“But for the fact that almost all top leaders are in London, the decision to move to higher courts for a judicial review of a few transactions could not be done.”
Taj Haider said that the committee would again meet on Friday (today) and privatisation “is on top of its agenda”.
His explanation for fast-track privatisation is to generate cash and foreign exchange. Instead of curtailing import, increasing exports and improving industrial and agricultural production, the military-led government was finding it easier to sell the family silver at throwaway prices.
Sattar Butt, Secretary of the Pakistan Steel Employees Action Committee said that he and other trade union leaders were waiting for a detailed judgment of the Supreme Court and CCI’s decision was surprising.
Majyd Aziz, a former Chairman of SITE Association said that transparency was important to all business transactions.
Surprisingly, none of the trade bodies the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry or its affiliated chambers or associations have any privatisation committees to monitor the government programme.
