Rental plants back in business

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

ISLAMABAD: Saying thanks, but no thanks, the Water and Power Ministry has rejected a cabinet decision and has gone ahead with the rental power projects, despite the Asian Bank’s objections and the cabinet’s directives.
The much-trumpeted Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s inquiry report into the explosive scam of controversial multi-billion dollars Rental Power Projects (RPPs) has finally been dumped and rental power plants are back in business.
The extraordinary decision not to revise those dirty deals signed with several rental powers plants has now been conveyed to the federal cabinet by the Cabinet Division in its official report. After dragging feet for eight-long months, the defiant bosses of the Water & Power ministry have quietly thrown the decision of PM Gilani’s federal cabinet to revise the faulty contracts into the dustbin.
The political and bureaucratic leadership of the Water & Power ministry, despite facing serious allegations of minting money through these dirty deals, has conveniently prevailed through an array of political and bureaucratic tactics to continue with the faulty rental power projects. The mighty owners, both Pakistanis and foreigners, have already been doled out billions of rupees in advance without any relief in loadshedding.
By refusing to execute one of the most important findings of the ADB audit report, the Water and Power ministry bosses have also snubbed Prime Minister Gilani and his ministers, who too had ordered the concerned ministry to revise the faulty contracts in the light of the findings of the ADB, which were approved by the cabinet for implementation in its meeting held on January 27, 2010.
Official sources claimed that the desperate efforts of the former finance minister Shaukat Tarin, who had even threatened to resign last year to stop the installation of these controversial projects, ended in a fiasco. He had persuaded PM Gilani to get these faulty contracts audited through the ADB but all in vain.
The Cabinet Division, in its report about the status of federal cabinet’s decision No 49/prog/2010, has informed PM Gilani that his decision was not implemented simply because it was not possible to revise it at this stage.
The Ministry of Water and Power has taken the position that the inconsistencies in the contracts have not been removed, as it will not be realistic to reopen the signed agreement for removal of inconsistency without harming/delaying the projects as they were at various stages of implementation.
Talking to The News, a spokesman of the Water & Power Ministry defended his ministry’s position, saying the cabinet had allowed eight RPPs of 1,275 MWs to be implemented vigorously since these were at advance stages of implementation.
He said the cabinet observed that six RPPs of 838 MW identified and signed, but not yet effective, be reviewed in the context of legal terms before any further action. He claimed that by interpretation, the cabinet authorised the Ministry of Water and Power to recheck the legal status based on contractual obligations of six RPPs of 838 MW in public interest, so that additional power could be made available to the national grid in the wake of the ongoing energy crisis.
The spokesman said the Ministry of Water and Power considers that contractual obligations arising out of signing these six RPPs with a consortium of local and foreign investors has to be viewed in the context of national interests.
He claimed that it was against this background that the Ministry of Water and Power had informed the Cabinet Division to bring into the notice of the cabinet/competent forum that in addition to the existing 1,275 MW (8 RPPs), Pakistan may continue processing of 838 MW (6 RPPs) identified by the ADB report, as signed but not yet effective. The spokesman added that as per the cabinet’s decision, the para (5) of the contract, timelines have to be strictly enforced as a national obligation.