Daily Times

Every country have normal and speed up or accelerated modes of delivery. Unfortunately in Pakistan the normal mode has become non-functional. In the absence of time deadlines and SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) nothing moved unless wheels of currency are attached to it. To stall any personal initiatives then there are audits, NAB and ACE (Anti Corruption Establishment) investigations together they ensure that no facilitation takes place.

In the seventies when Bhutto launched the Nuclear Programme it was allowed to operate without financial audit jurisdiction. In other words public funds were made available without independent external review. Results have been mixed, Pakistan did become a nuclear power. Today our security is strengthened but the cost has been very high. Several scandals and misuse of funds for personal projection have also been reported. Personally I believe that the programme should now come under financial audit enabling the nation to focus on human development which has been largely ignored in the last forty years.

The success of the Nuclear Programme has established the speed up mode while making the normal approach redundant. Speed money has become a way of life to accelerate work. Even the governments have fallen into this trap. There is no one left to strengthen and streamline the normal mode which everyone can afford and use. In Mian Sahib’s first stint as Prime Minister (PM) Abba Ji personally hired retired bureaucrats to act as his front men to speed up work through gratification and personal benefits.

Good governance demands focus on the tested and tried normal approach. People of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan should not be bombed again and again with speed and debt, as the Nuclear Arsenal has been built now we need to strengthen the nation which calls for streamlining the normal and affordable mode of delivery

In Pakistan LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) is being supplied to the two distribution companies (SNGPL, SSGC) at the cost of $11.34 per MMBTU which is unaffordable. In USA Shale Gas is available at $3.0 per MMBTU. Corruption or no corruption the cost itself is outrageous. Affordable cheaper options should have been considered. People of the Islamic Republic have been strangled by unaffordable power and energy.

In order to bring LNG into the system three state entities were involved. Pakistan State Oil (PSO) was required to import the fuel while the two gas distribution companies were to sell it to the public. All three of them refused to go along with the government plan. As a punishment all the Managing Directors (MD) were arbitrarily removed, former MD of PSO is on protective bail. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi the Minister is already behind bars. Dr.Miftah Ismail has also been roped though he was not on board when the LNG contracts were signed.

Vested interests first block the normal mode making life difficult for the common man. Water is allowed to cross the bridge creating an emergency. In order to solve the deliberate crises, war like situation is created and as it is said, ‘Everything is fair in love and war’. While the love is for the money, war is declared on the pockets of the public. Sustainable operations can only be achieved through the normal mode, which must function without roadblocks.

The discovery of natural gas at Sui in 1952 proved to be a game changer for the country. Today Pakistan has state of the art gas transmission and distribution networks designed, built and maintained by local expertise. In August 2018 coal mining has started at Thar which is one of the largest deposits of the world (175 billion tons). This month 660 MW of power from this fuel has entered the system. Instead of expensive, imported LNG, this lignite can be used to produce Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) at about 40% less cost and without burdening the foreign exchange reserves of the country. Above ground gasification is an established process which should have been started instead of consuming money and time on untested UCG Process (Underground Coal Gasification) which failed.

In order to expedite development an exception was made to speed up the process for Nuclear Development it cannot become a norm in other areas. Today nothing moves without kickbacks and speed money. Mafias have taken over. Even public records have been tempered in large cities creating serious problems for the law abiding public.

It is widely believed that marketing is the entry and exit for all new products. Producing stuff which is out of the reach of the public is a waste of time and resources while billions are spent on running state institutions, their output without speed money is almost nil. While public is made to suffer the officials enjoy facilities and perks together with speed money. It is widely believed that, ‘a chain is as strong as its weakest link’. In our system it is the normal mode which has to be strengthened and made fool proof. Those who create impediments in the flow of work should be penalized. In order to speed up growth only the normal mode can deliver. Good governance demands focus on the tested and tried normal approach. People of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan should not be bombed again and again with speed and debt, as the Nuclear Arsenal has been built now we need to strengthen the nation which calls for streamlining the normal and affordable mode of delivery. As it is widely believed that, ‘ Speed thrills but it kills ‘. Let us learn to live like normal human beings by moving slowly but surely.

The writer is Ex-Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation Email: fmaliks@hotmail.com