KARACHI, April 30: Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Chairman retired Lt-General Zukfikar Ali Khan wants a quick decision on a fundamental issue before he draws up a long-term perspective plan for 2025. He seeks a verdict on whether or not it is the state’s responsibility to provide basic amenities like water, electricity, education and health to the people.

“What should be the rate at which each of these services are to be offered to the people?” the Wapda chairman wants an answer in precise terms.

This was the impression gathered during a long, informal conversation with Gen Zulfikar Khan when he visited Dawn office on Tuesday.

Confronted with a recovery problem of almost Rs34.5 billion, which includes about Rs25 billion from Fata from where there is hardly any chance of getting any money, the Wapda chief needs a fabulous amount of more than Rs60 billion to provide electricity to about 50 to 60 million people living in 53,000 villages scattered in the four provinces who remain without electricity even after more than 55 years of independence.

Gen Zulfikar Khan was more than blunt in blaming a handful of oil distribution companies in Pakistan for manipulating oil prices every fortnight for their own benefit. “Look how their profits are soaring,” he said, and demanded that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (ORGA) should be made as active and assertive as Nepra.

“The price of furnace oil has gone up by 125 per cent and that of gas by about 108 per cent — the two main inputs of electric generation — since May 1999,” he argued to establish that the 15.5 per cent increase in electricity tariff did not compensate for this huge recurring cost.

He came forth with the startling assertion that line losses in Karachi were almost 60 per cent before the army moved in 1999. He debunked all official and unofficial reports, including audit figures, which gave line losses in Karachi in 1999 and earlier at 38 per cent.

“Line losses were deliberately under reported,” Gen Zulfikar Khan declared, and claimed that these losses had now been brought down to 43 per cent.