Correcting Wapda’s Mechanism
First of all let us accept that Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) is in a holy mess, its running expenditures running far more than its receivables, its future commitments far exceeding its expectations. As far back as 1990 I had written in THE NATION, in “ENERGISING THE PRIVATE SECTOR”, quote “Over the years disparate fiefdoms have been carved out within WAPDA, down the line malfeasance of varying degree has become routine, from kickbacks in big projects at the higher levels to the connivance of the linemen in the stealing of electricity, residential or commercial. The revenue loss has ensured that WAPDA gives the impression in the public mind of an unmanageable loss-making colossus”. Unquote. While WAPDA has many ills, prime among them being corruption and inefficiency, the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back were the rather one-sided agreements in favour of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) that were concluded during the last PPP regime. However, all the governments since 1985 are to blame to some extent for one reason or the other. The present Nawaz Sharif government inherited the cumulative mess of the Benazir era. After months of wrangling, the Government of Pakistan (GOP) had come to an arrangement about reduction of tariffs, it transpired later that we would end up paying far more than the agreement we were scrapping, the IPPs were laughing themselves sick to the bank. Faced with such a situation Lt Gen Zulfikar, on deputation from the Pakistan Army’s Corps of Engineers, is believed to have prepared a Summary for the PM opposing the deal which was mid-wifed by the Ehtesab Bureau and then forced down the throat of the Ministry of Water and Power.
