ISLAMABAD: As the government has yet to privatise any state-owned enterprise, the Senate Standing Committee on Privatisation was informed on Thursday that Rs250 million was spent on the divestment process of power distribution companies (Discos) without completing a single transaction.

Seeking details of this enormous expenditure, committee chair Senator Tallal Badar lamented that in a state where Rs250 million is involved, and failures have occurred, what kind of perception this would create in the world.

The energy ministry briefed the committee on the proposed privatisation of Discos. However, the committee chairman inquired about the failure to privatise the Faisalabad Electric Company (Fesco), questioning why the process was unsuccessful.

He lamented that Fesco had reached its final stage of privatisation around 2016-17, yet it still needed to be finalised.

When the chairman further inquired about the factors which hindered the privatisation process and raised concerns about the reasoning provided regarding labour at that time, the representative of the Ministry of Power emphasised that the employees’ concerns have become a significant obstacle in the privatisation process.

Mr Badar also inquired about the full details of Fesco and Pesco, expressing dismay over the current state of both companies. Given the present circumstances, he noted that no one would be interested in acquiring the companies if the situation remains unchanged.

He urged the authorities to review the board’s performance and identify the factors that led to this condition. Additionally, he questioned whether the privatisation was intended to resolve existing issues, address the companies’ financial decline, or was driven by labour concerns, all of which should have been thoroughly discussed with the committee.

Additionally, the committee unanimously agreed to hold a joint meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Power and the Senate Standing Committee on Privatisation to examine the aforementioned companies’ details and shortcomings.

Regarding the privatisation of PIA, the secretary privatisation informed the committee that the bidding had been rescheduled for Oct 31 as some bidders were seeking more information, and negotiations were still underway. Bidders have also raised the issue of PIA legacy liabilities.

The committee chairman directed the secretary of privatisation to finalise the process by Oct 31, emphasising that Pakistan’s future depends on it. He also expressed optimism that the privatisation efforts by PIACL will yield positive results.

Senator Badar emphasised that the committee’s primary concern is receiving further updates on the privatisation transaction of PIA, stressing that delays and failure to execute the transaction create complications for the country.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2024