A city of more than 20 million people with a gigantic industrial sector, vibrant economic, trade and business activity, Karachi’s sea port is responsible for all maritime security arrangements, sea trade and traffic and a source for ample seabed resources. Known as “the city of lights” through the previous century, with the beginning of the 21st century the lights started gradually going out all over the city, currently excessive and unannounced load shedding has become a grim reality. In the excessive heat during certain summer months, citizens vent their frustration and resort to protests that soon morph into violence. This has been going on for many years even as the Karachi Electric (KE) looks on as an uninterested spectator taking no meaningful measures to remedy the situation. As Chairman KE for a short period I was part of the problem not the solution. As Pakistan’s main port city as well as its major manufacturing base, Karachi gives the country the foundation for its economic life.
For an economic Pakistan it is also vital that KE succeeds in generating and distributing electricity to over millions of its consumers, industrial, commercial and residential, arguably energy is one of the most important inputs for economic growth to sustain industrial and commercial activities. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IREA), an intergovernmental organisation revealed in a report that more than half of all rural households in Pakistan still lack access to electricity, and are forced to use biomass for energy requirements. The lack of a more diverse array of energy options for rural communities is also hampering the fight against poverty and indoor pollution. Access to electricity (% of population) in Pakistan was reported at 75.38 % in 2020, after the World Bank collected development indicators from officially recognized sources. A known nuclear power, Pakistan ranks 149 out of 196 countries, even behind Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Almost 100 million people, mostly in rural areas remain deprived of the necessity, which places Pakistan at the 40th position among 88 countries in terms of availability of electricity in rural areas.
Corruption is yet another factor that bedevils Pakistan. While a certain amount of corruption is present in most societies, corruption undisputedly is one of the worst features of Pakistan. Over the decades it has reached epic proportions, now undermining the state and its institution. Corruption has now been weaponised in the higher echelons of leadership to the detriment of the state. Leaving aside the moral decay, it is the major reason for Pakistani economy faltering, for poverty to be rising and food security diminishing, not surprising that the rich are getting richer and the poor getting poorer. While it has certainly evoked mass protest, one has to be practical and realistic, there is diminishing hope for betterment. One can only hope that those who are in the habit of thriving on corruption and have grown rich on it would have to pay the price, change their ways or be weeded out. But for that to happen, laws and reliable law enforcement has to be put in place manned by those who are ready to do their jobs honestly.
Despite decades of trying to run a democracy in Pakistan the main ingredients for it are still missing. One major reason is the missing idea of equality of all Pakistani citizens in front of the law. Most people think that they are so special that the law cannot be applied to them; that starts with traffic rules and ends with the Constitution, the premier law of the land. Secondly, there is a lack of understanding or acceptance among people of the difference between personal interest and national interest. Members of Parliament are meant to promote the national interest of the country, particularly promoting the well-being of all, not the least of the larger – and poorer – section of the society. Any bill introduced in the Parliament for passing into law has to consider the greater good of society, the MNA must not consider his or her own personal or her family’s business interest. One votes for a law if it is in the interest of the country even if it hurts your own private interest.
The same applies to decision-making in administration and other state institutions. And even a private enterprise should keep the larger national good in mind and not take decisions that undermines the very country he/she is living in. Public discussions, about what exactly is national interest and how it is different from personal interest are hardly ever conducted; not surprising the awareness of this important aspect is low. There is another peculiarity in the subcontinent, an inheritance of British rule. During the freedom movement against British rule going to prison had attained an aura of sacrifice. While that was certainly the case while fighting for freedom from colonial rule, going to prison for corruption seems to be regarded the same way until today. Politicians with pending corruption cases are fit to rule the country.
Today Pakistan finds itself in dire straits and in an unenviable position as its economic situation worsens and its foreign exchange reserves remain slightly over US$4 billion (US$4.301 billion) as on March 2023. Subsequently the forex reserves have now reached a level providing more than one month of import cover. Desperate, it has sought assistance from the IMF, international banks and donors to escape bankruptcy. However, the reliance on a bailout loan from the IMF to stave off a default, has remained elusive so far. Catering to IMF’s stiff stipulations, Pakistan has increased many taxes, raised energy prices to levels beyond the means of the people, and allowed its currency to depreciate greatly. The fifth most populous country in the world Pakistan is today mired in economic, social and political crises. On the other many South Asian countries are growing, both economically and politically, according to concerted long-term policy frameworks, while short-termism and reactive, rather than proactive, policy frameworks have become a recurrent theme in our politico economic management. In February 2023 our inflation rate soared to all time high, 31.5 %, leading to significant depreciation of our currency, higher petrol prices and increased basic commodities prices. There is widespread disillusionment with the capacity of the State to solve ethnic, linguistic, sectarian and gender-based inequalities in Pakistan. But, in the larger scheme of things, these social fissures remain on the periphery as the battle for the least advantaged and most marginalized groups in Pakistan is primarily an economic struggle.
Coming back to the topic of power shortages, Pakistan gets at least 60% of its electricity from fossil fuels, while nearly 27% of the electricity is generated by hydropower. The contribution of nuclear and solar power to the nation’s grid is about 10%. Despite its geographic scale, a rising population, and the fact that the city currently lacks a viable programmatic framework, Karachi is armed with a unique competitive advantage over other cities. Karachi’s strategic advantage cities is that it can leverage a viable energy programme through a transition to renewable energy since it possesses almost all possible renewable energy resources, namely: wind power (inland and offshore), biomass energy production, wave and tidal energy, solar (photovoltaic) power, and waste to energy.
For some reason the focus of successive governments has always been on setting up medium-sized 50MW/100MW solar parks and 50MW wind farms connected to the national grid. But this is done at a small scale, and most of the rural areas remain without electricity. Pakistan has excellent production facilities to undertake manufacturing and supply of units for small coal-fired power plants, solar energy, wind-power units, and hydropower plants, but the domestic engineering industry has never been allowed to effectively participate in developing the power sector. Meanwhile, load shedding hours in Karachi have increased upto 16 hours daily in some locations.
Pakistan’s current economic situation is deteriorating day by day. Have those who rule over our destinies even think about where the current circumstances will take us in the near future? What will be the long-term consequences?
