Patriot Report
The pall of confusion is prevailing over the aspirations and expectations related to the CPEC, one of the mega projects that can literally all together change the economic socio political condition not only of Pakistan but also of the entire region, thanks to the mysterious, sad and unfortunate attitude of the bureaucracy in Pakistan.
It shall be pertinent to mention here that the daily Patriot has already pointed out the reservations of Senate that some bureaucrats’ attitude is detrimental to the future of CPEC. This time Daily The Patriot has learnt more shocking details through some reliable sources that attitude of Pakistani bureaucracy is very much alarming as for as the future of CPEC is concerned.
CPEC is commonly misunderstood by the masses at large that it is just a route. The reality is bit different. The CPEC has Early Harvest Projects as well and Chinese government itself has given a go ahead to its investors for these Early harvest Projects. Quaid-e- Azam Solar Park is also an Early Harvest project and only a few know the fact that if this project fails it shall have an impact on the CPEC and it can put the whole exercise in jeopardy. Now whats going on here is a murky area. The project is being run by Zonergy, a Chinese company that has invested a huge amount and the whole amount shall not be considered a loan. It is just an investment, an unprecedented move in the given economic situation of Pakistan. The Daily Patriot has learnt about the shocking facts. The Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Water and Power issued power tariff regarding this project on July 6, 2015 through TARIFF NOTIFICATION. The very next day, the same ministry issued another “IMMEDIATE” notification for revisiting the tariff. Both notifications were signed by the same section officer. It is intriguing that a ministry issues contradictory notification within 24 hours. This attitude of the ministry has created panic and the Chinese company Zonergy Company Limited President Mr Yu Yong wrote a letter to the Chief Minister of Punjab to have an appointment but till todate Yu Yong is not able to meet the CM.
Here comes the most alarming aspect of the sad state of affairs. In third meeting of energy working groups for China- Pakistan Economic Corridor held on August 25, 2015, it is stated and the same is being reproduced here:
” The Chinese side stated that the decrease of Tariff for renewable energy will surely affect the cost effectiveness of following project implementation , dampen the investment enthusiasm for enterprises as well as affect the projects implementation based on Pak China Intergovernmental Agreements.” The situation is alarming. This attitude of the bureaucracy is detrimental to CPEC. One wonders if the PM is aware of the facts or not but people say that this attitude must be checked so as to verify if any bureaucrat is working against the interests of the state. CPEC is vital for Pakistan and same are its Early harvest Projects. If these projects are failed the CPEC’s future is uncertain.