LARKANA: Electricity is costlier in Pakistan than it is in many countries of the world and the arrival of independent power producers in the country has destroyed national economy, according to Abdul Latif Nizamani, president of All Pakistan Wapda Hydroelectric Workers Union.

Mr Nizamani told journalists at a local hotel on Saturday night that the Wapda union had been banned despite winning referendum for the sixth time. It had earlier been banned during Nawaz Sharif`s rule and two other governments afterwards, he said.

He said the objective behind banning the union was to silencetheir voice against the excesses perpetuated by the powers that be but `we are neither purchasable nor the ones to yield to pressure. We have struggled in past and our struggle still continues`.

He said that they did not subscribe to communism, socialism or feudalism but they only supported labourers, who were sustainingthe progress ofthe country with their blood.

He said the federal government had approved minimum wage of Rs37,000 per month for a worker but both the government and private institutions were not implementing it.

Till 1996, Wapda was contributing 40 per cent to the country`s revenues and prosperity from its earnings but the authority got weakened after the coming into being of elec-tric companies, he said.

Mr Nizamani alleged that officers indulged in corruption, they needed their cut every month and hence they forced workers to earn [ill-gotten money] for them. Upper class was thriving while lower class was barely subsisting, he said.

He said the slogan of publicprivate partnership came from America in 1980 and it negatively affected human capital.

Currently, power companies faced shortage of 80,000 labourers, he said.

He said that there was no training and no safety gears for staff and electricity theft was not considered a crime in the country. At least 50,000 cases had been lodged but no action had been taken against the defaulters rather the cases werebeing cancelled by getting them declared as C class, he said.

He said: `Privatisation is a curse, if we shut down electricity the entire country will come to a standstill but we don`t like to create trouble for common man nor want to cause any damage to the country`s economy. If we think positively, why doesn`t government think for the betterment of labourers and workers, he said.

He said the country had currently capacity to produce 48,000 megawatt electricity while it needed only 22,000 megawatt even in peak season but the system of NTDC was not designed to carry that much load.

Hence, the country was generating only 16,000 megawatt but grid stations were not beingoperated properly and instead the electricity was being purchased from private companies, which had caused upward surge in tariff. How power theft could be checked when except Islamabad, electricity cables were uncovered in the entire country, he asked.

Mr Nizamani lamented that government`s writ was weak.

`We all have to work together to keep things going well.

Institutions of our country will progress only when electricity is cheaper,` he said.

He appealed to officers to shun corruption and also implored people not to steal electricity.

Other leaders of the union, Iqbal Khan, Azam Khan and Nisar Shaikh, also spoke on the occasion.