Goods train relaunch lauded

on 05/07/2017

Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) has welcomed re-launching of Goods-in-Transit-to-Afghanistan (GITA) train after the service remained closed for seven years. PAJCCI Senior VP Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi has in a statement hoped federal government would withdraw statutory regulatory order (SRO) 121. The steps would allow handing over empty containers in Karachi to shipping lines to let 70% Afghan Transit Trade goods shift to Iran’s Chahahar Port and be attracted back to Pakistan. He said that restoration of GITA train was long standing demand of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and Frontier Customs Agents Group. The decision was hailed by all stakeholders including customs clearing, forwarding, border shipping agents and Afghan traders, who are satisfied over it. Chairman SCCI, Railway and Dry Port standing committee said federal government’s decision will provide cheap, secure and trustful goods transportation facility plus earn millions of rupees revenue for railways and also strengthen provincial economy.

Dr. Faizullah Abbasi reappointed as VC DUET

on 05/07/2017

Sindh Governor and Chancellor Mohammed Zubair has appointed Dr. Faizullah Abbasi as Vice Chancellor of Dow University of Engineering and Technology Karachi for further four years. The Governor also appointed Prof Dr. Mohammed Tufail as Pro-Vice Chancellor of NED University of Engineering and Technology Karachi for a four-year term. Dr Faizullah Abbasi is the first vice-chancellor of DUET who had assumed charge of the office today in 2013.The institution, which was formerly known as Dawood College of Engineering and Technology (DCET), received university status recently in February 2013, when the Sindh Assembly passed an act.He has been the Head of Mining and Metallurgical engineering at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology. Dr Abbasi did his post-graduation in production management from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and a doctorate from Sheffield City Polytechnic, United Kingdom. He also served Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) as managing director and has vast experience teaching, research and administration.

Subcontracting in huge CPEC projects

on 04/07/2017

 Govt, Pak companies face big challenge: Al Kazim Mansoor

Soilmat Chief talks about reasons why Pak companies fail to reap benefits from CPEC

There are two views in Pakistan in the backdrop of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). First, Pakistani industry will be devastated by this initiative, second, CPEC would not affect us at all. I do not agree with both the views as they are two extremes, says Al Kazim Mansoor, the Chief Executive of Soilmat Engineers while talking to Engineering Review.
Pakistan has never seen such magnitude of development which is being witnessed under the CPEC, he believes.
Initially, the impact did not appear as our companies which work under the guidelines of the PEC and PEPRA met the criteria—the work experience and financial stability—set for comparatively low-cost projects.The issue surfaced when big projects like Sukkur-Multan Motorway started coming, he said. Let’s suppose they cost Rs100 billion and Chinese companies are to pass on works worth Rs.30 billion to Pakistani companies provided they meet the criteria in terms of their work experience and financial strength. Unfortunately, Pakistani companies fail to meet the standards which were fit for them in smaller projects. Now, the Chinese companies seek permission for giving such contracts to others.
This is a crux of the issue, he believes.

“This is an issue which, at least at the time, the government even do not know how to resolve.”

The question is how come big names like FWO and NLC also cannot meet the standards for acquiring huge projects under the CPEC?
Al Kazim guesses they may be exhausted as they are doing many projects like Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway, Karachi-Thatta National Highway and other full sections of roads.
He said there was yet another aspect as well. The Chinese are not westerners which give contracts to local companies as they find local companies cheaper. For instance, he said his company (Soilmat) worked on Reko Dik Project for which just 10 – 15 people arrived in Pakistan. They got the work done from them (Soilmat) and hired a foreign company for vetting their report. In contrast, the Chinese do it themselves. They pay $700 to $1000 to a fresh engineer who is equal to fresh Pakistani engineer thus the Chinese engineer is cheaper for them. In sum, Pakistanis may not have benefited much from them.
Moreover, purchases is also an issue. The Chinese companies have benefit of exemptions on import duties in Pakistan. They win projects because they bid the lowest rates as Pakistani companies cannot compete because of high taxation on purchases of material. This is a jolt to Pakistani industry.
Citing an under-construction building in Karachi as an example, he said: our developers also find Chinese companies cheaper and also better in building and material quality so they get attracted to them. Therefore, this question is not so easy to respond.
How to resolve it then? Is making consortium a way out if Pakistan companies do not meet standards for subcontracting?
“We are actually a hasty nation. We have to push things hurriedly. We do many things keeping elections in mind and it all becomes political too. There is no culture of thought process in the country. Like, Pakistan is going for the privatization of its airports—a decision which neighboring India took ten years back when Manmohan Sindh was the Prime Minister. They looked at all the aspects of the decision and implemented it. Here we are in hurry. It harms the country.
Yet another example is the projects launched by Mustafa Kamal in Karachi. They were done in a hurry and thus compromised quality. It also happened in Lahore but they now have expertise. Still the projects done in haste are faulty. When asked if the Chinese companies will bring workers from their country also? It seems so, he replied. Their eye is on benefits. I believe there will be some projects here on which Chinese laborers shall work.
On perception that there are a few companies in Lahore which get the lion’s share, Al Kazim said it was difficult to comment. Normally, the companies earn a lot of confidence of their client and consultant. They work together. Everything is open and every company is active. Thus, it is not possible to hide it if someone is denied. Relationships do work but still hoodwinking is not possible when there are many institutions involved.

Education failure in Sindh

on 04/07/2017

A truth which costs the writer its job!

For a decade, we have been boasting about grand education-sector reforms in Sindh. But things are not improving. Half of the schools in the province are still without basic facilities such as drinking water, electricity, toilets and furniture, etc. even though in every year`s budget documents, there is always a special mention about providing such essentials. Institutional inefficiencies and vested interests continue to plague the education sector.The second Sindh Education Sector Reform Project (SERP-II), a five-year plan with a total budget of $400 million, is about to complete its full cycle by the end of the current month. To everyone`s dismay, achievements under SERP-II are pretty much the same as they were at the end of SERP-I. We have not only squandered money, a World Bank loan, but have also lost time. Broadly, the project sets two main targets: increase school participation at the primary, middle and secondary levels, and improve students` learning outcomes. Specific targets included an increase in net enrolment at the primary level (six-10 years) from 61.6 per cent to 67pc, at the middle level (11-13 years) from 35.7pc to 40pc, and at matriculation (14-15 years) from 23.1pc to 26pc. These baselines were developed according to the Pakistan Living Standards Measurement Survey 2010-11. According to the latest PLSM data for the year 2014-15, released in 2016, there is no significant improvement in the above indicators. The government of Sindh may question the reliability of the data but it still would not be able to absolve itself of its due share of blame because the same source of data was used to design the baselines.

Another crucial indicator is the quality of education, where the situation does not look promising either. In 2012, the provincial education department started assessing the performance of students of Class 5 and 8 in three subjects: languages (English, Urdu, and Sindhi), Math and Science. These assessments were done though a third party, the Institute of Business Administration, Sukkur. Since then, the Standardised Achievement Test (SAT) is carried out across the province on an annual basis. To date, four assessments have been carried out. Again, the results are very disturbing. Overall, the provincial average score in languages for Class 5 was 32 pc and for Class 8 it was 37 pc, while the average score for Math and Science was around 24 pc for both classes.

The performance of the education department has been pathetic and there is no sign of improvement. Can this department, which received 18-20 pc of a share in the provincial budget, even justify its existence? Yet it would be unfair to not mention some positive developments, such as the biometric verification of all employees of the education department and the establishment of a directorate for monitoring and evaluation, amongst a few other things. Unfortunately, these small gains are being squandered. Some employees who were in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau on corruption charges, and submitted to `voluntary return` have not only been reinstated but even promoted. Further more, absent and irregular employees (identified as a result of the biometric exercise), whose salaries had been frozen, are now being facilitated in getting their salaries before Eid. The political leadership is eyeing the upcoming general elections, so its top priority is to consolidate its vote bank. And officers are so wedded to their posts that they are happy to find any ways and means to oblige the leadership.

Sindh cannot progress without an educated and skilled labour force. Who will fix it, and how? There is a no simple answer. First, understanding is required as to where the fault lies. Only sincere and honest efforts can steer us out of the education crisis. While working for international aid agencies, NGOs and the government of Sindh, I have observed a strong network of vested-interest parties. The situation has plummeted with the involvement of huge funds and poor accountability mechanisms. Whenever someone dares ask critical questions, all opposing forces come together to silence it. Therefore, to begin with, it is essential that the nexus be understood and exposed. Currently, plans are being made to get approval for SERP-III. Would this be wise after the failure of SERP-I and II? Why do we even need a loan when we fail to spend our own funds? Given the poor quality of service delivery by the education department, it would be prudent to put our own  house in order first. Is anyone listening? I doubt it. No one appears concerned about the education of Sindh`s poor; all the “haves” have withdrawn their stakes from the public education system. –

(The writer Asghar Soomro was posted as Communication Specialist in Reform Support Unit (RSU) of the Education Department Sindh. His article appeared in Dawn).

Naseer Memon to join CSR Engro Power Generation

on 04/07/2017

Naseer Memon, an engineer by education has been appointed as General Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of Engro Power Gen Ltd. Mr. Naseer Memon has been working as the Chief Executive SPO for over seven years. Engro has a robust CSR program focusing the people and areas of Sindh’s Thar Desert which houses vast reserves of coal being mined for power generation. Mr. Memon is also voluntarily President of Friends of Indus Forum and is associated with Indus Resource Centre (IRC) as the Member Board of Directors. He is the Fellow, Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) International, Technical Advisor, Pakistan Network of Rivers, Dams and People (PNRDP) and Member/Director Energy Conservation Fund, ENERCON. Previously, Mr. Naseer was associated as Provincial Coordinator-Sindh with LEAD Pakistan, Regional Manager of Sindh and Balochistan coastal areas program at WWF, Community Development Officer PREMIER-KUFPEC and Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) Jamshoro, Sindh. Mr. Memon has also represented on various bodies/committees of governmental and non-governmental organizations. He was member of the Research Committee of the World Bank supported Water Sector Improvement Project of the government of Sindh, member of the Provincial Program Steering Committee of the World Bank supported National Drainage Project (NDP) and member of the Steering Committee of the National Environmental Action Plan of the Government of Pakistan.In addition, Mr. Naseer Memon is the recipient of Make the Difference Award – Premier Oil International, 2003 and Best Writer on Environmental Issues – Sindh Environmental Protection Agency, 1999.