ISLAMABAD, Nov 24: A spokesman for the ministry of water and power has termed the performance of the telemetry equipment provided by German firm Siemens ‘highly unsatisfactory’.

In response to the claims made by Siemens that company would ‘prove’ that the water and power minister was ‘misinformed’ on the subject, the ministry spokesman said in a statement on Friday that the performance of the equipment was “worse than used equipment” and “Siemens had failed to make the operation of telemetry satisfactorily for more than two years”.

The company had issued the statement on Thursday while responding to a statement of Water and Power Minister Liaquat Jatoi on the floor of the House stating that the telemetry system was defective and “Siemens was responsible for providing second-hand equipment."

The spokesman said the minister was well-informed and would not allow money to be wasted as the project had been initiated at a cost of Rs320 million.