Power for the powerful
Published in The News on May 2, 2014
This refers to the editorial, ‘Power and the
powerful’ (May 1). Put an average Pakistani in a powerful position and he will
be tempted to abuse his authority. He believes that no one will respect him if
he follows the rules. Go into any government office and you will find air
conditioners running full blast even before the ‘sahib’ has reached his office.
This is to ensure that the sahib doesn’t have to sweat before the air
conditioner is switched on and the office is cooled.
No government officer is bothered if electricity
is wasted, because he doesn’t have to pay for it out of his own pocket. The
result, of course, is that government departments are the major power
defaulters. In private companies, managers are taken to task if electricity
consumption rises without any reason. But government employees, knowing that
they cannot be sacked, blissfully ignore wasteful expenditure. The government
should do what private companies do: make the department heads pay for the
electricity used in their offices. This will, of course, require meters to be
installed in every department, but it will pay off in a short time.
Shakir Lakhani
Karachi
No comments:
Post a Comment