WE need experienced and honest people to control the critical sectors of governance. It is just not right for Asad Umar to refuse the call to take charge of the most demanding ministry which will make or break the country’s future. Hopefully, he will be offered the ministry of energy and water (since, it is difficult to isolate the two at the planning level) and he will graciously accept this challenge for the good of the country.

Both sectors have been deliberately mishandled, the energy sector to ensure enormous quick kickbacks. The water sector with large dams seem to have been ignored since this cheaper and environmentally less damaging option would have reduced thermal power plant kickbacks!

Any planning in the energy and water sectors without a basic understanding of conservation is bound to fail and. We must understand that we cannot provide the increasing demand of energy and water for 220 million people unless we learn to conserve. Unfortunately on a national level, there is no realisation of this essential need.

Asad Umar with his experience in the corporate sector must acknowledge the immense gains possible with immediate adoption of conservation measures.

Possibility of natural gas conservation was and still is vast and if we had actually ensured cogeneration/combined heat and power systems in our industries and large commercial buildings, we would be really well off and we would have avoided this huge LNG disaster.

Water conservation will solve our immediate water problems and we can afford to delay new large dams costing trillions. We have wasted and continue to waste a huge amount of water in flood irrigation, and this causes severe water shortages and reduces our agricultural yields.

Both energy and water sectors need to be modernised. It is high time to introduce modern concepts.

Aaza

Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2019