Dear Murad Ali Shah, why have you
suddenly taken interest in the gas situation now?
By Shakir Lakhani Published: April 22, 2017
Would you
like it if the elected representatives of Karachi threatened to take over the
Sindh government’s offices in Karachi if they are not provided funds to run the
city?
The normally calm and composed Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, surprised everyone recently by losing his cool and shouting at the top of his
voice in the Sindh Assembly. The reason for his outburst was that a power plant
in Nooriabad is not being supplied natural gas, as a result of which the said
power plant was not able to produce electricity. He threatened to stop the
supply of natural gas from Sindh to other parts of the country if the Nooriabad
power plant is not immediately supplied natural gas.
Are you serious, Mr Shah?
Apart
from the fact that your threat is entirely unconstitutional, and courts in the
country can give you relief if you feel that your constitutional rights are
violated, have you considered the possibility that taking over the offices of
the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC)
to shut it down would set a dangerous precedent in your own province?
Would you like it if the elected representatives of Karachi
threatened to take over the Sindh government’s offices in Karachi if they are
not provided funds to run the city, funds which you are bound by the
Constitution to provide? Do you know the havoc it would cause if the people of
Karachi suddenly stopped paying provincial taxes, considering that Karachi is the city which provides 96% of taxes collected
by your government?
By
the way, why have you suddenly taken notice of the gas situation now? Where were you all these years
when CNG supply was frequently interrupted, and continues to be interrupted
even now? What about low gas pressure and gas load shedding in many
parts of Karachi during the past few years? Why is it that only now you have
awakened and realised that there is a gas problem in the province? Or does Karachi mean nothing to you but the goose that
lays the golden eggs, to be fleeced and exploited at will for the pleasure of
your party leaders, most of who do not even belong to Karachi?
According
to the contract signed between the power plant and SSGC, you have to pay a security deposit of a billion rupees, but
now you do not wish to pay it, perhaps because you and your party members are
accustomed to getting everything you want without paying for it. So why did you
sign the contract at all? In fact, if you don’t have the said amount of money,
where is all the money (900 billion) that you have taken from the people this
year? We know the last thing you want to do is to spend the budget money on the
welfare of the people, particularly people who live in Karachi, so perhaps one
of these days you will let us know where and how it is spent.
As
an engineer, you should have carefully studied the project, and could have
built a coal-fired power plant instead of one operating on natural gas. It
would have produced cheaper electricity for starters, and
there would have been no need for any security deposit. But we cannot expect
people like you to do something which would benefit the people, can we?
Dear Mr Shah, get real, stop
threatening people, get down to work, and earn the gratitude of the suffering
people of your province, if you want your party to win the elections next year.
Shakir Lakhani
Engineer, former
visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College, industrialist, associated with
petroleum/chemical industries for many years. Loves writing, and (in the
opinion of most of those who know him), mentally unbalanced. He tweets
@shakirlakhani (twitter.com/shakirlakhani)
http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/48836/dear-murad-ali-shah-why-have-you-suddenly-taken-interest-in-the-gas-situation-now/
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