Amid a snowballing energy crisis, an accountability panel has ordered the recovery of billions of rupees from a rental power plant (RPP) for violating the terms of the agreement.
The move exposes another shabby deal struck for ending loadshedding in the country on fast track basis.
The managing director of the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) told a special committee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that the RPP, Reshma, could supply only 100 megawatt (MW) electricity instead of 220MW it had committed in the agreement.
The committee, which met under the chairmanship of Riaz Hussain Peerzada, asked Pepco to recover the 14 per cent mobilisation advance (Rs 4.5 billion) the Reshma plant.
The Reshma plant was among many RPPS that got a 14 per cent mobilisation advance even without third party validation, raising eyebrows and the second one being exposed for violating the contract.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had ordered the recovery of the mobilisation advance from another rental power plant on same charges.
The PAC panel also asked the Foreign Office to issue notices to those ministers and parliamentarians who visit foreign embassies without its prior permission. However, this direction leaves the question unanswered whether the PAC has the authority to issue directions having no financial implications
Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said that the existing rules needed to be implemented in letter and spirit.
The move comes after the whistle-blower Wikileaks exposed the Pakistani politicians who bowed in front of ‘foreign masters’ to get their petty issues resolved.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2011.
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