Slowly and steadily our tangible assets are transforming into intangible assets. PIA, KESC, Railways, once earning units, are now running out on bailout packages of the government. These institutions have totally failed to generate revenue and hence are sapping on their own foundations and eventually, adding to the misery of worsening overall debt situation of the country.
Established in 1985, Pakistan Steel was a major metallurgical unit of Pakistan with most of its organs considered one of the top five steel mills of the world. Unfortunately, shagging of PSM began when government’s endeavour to privatise PSM was confronted and ultimately checked by the apex court. Thereafter, the downhill journey hastened.
Inefficient management, power outages, overstaffing, political manoeuvring, underutilisation of resources compounded the problems and the economic health quickly deteriorated. The sharp increase in revenue was neither investigated, nor controlled by management, which ultimately exhausted PSM resources. As reported in press, the havoc done with the coal batteries to extend their running time from 28 hours to 40 hours to avoid closure ended up in repair expenditure of Rs 2.5 billion. Moreover, the liabilities of the organisation continued to inflate extraordinarily. The swelled up figure of liabilities of Rs 110 billion, can fairly be interpreted as another bid to sale out PSM, by declaring it a white elephant.
Irony of fate is that our large organisations are falling out one after the other leaving economy in lurch and paving way of complete economic disaster.
Now the plummeting economic condition of PSM has forced management to ask the federal government a bailout package of Rs 12 billion. Today is the era of competition. The plethora of menaces, these large organisations facing today, cannot be overcome just by financial bailouts.
A thorough study of the state-of-affairs should be conducted and all black sheep may be thrown out. Competent, dutiful, honest and qualified management and staff will play anchor role in salvation of these dying units.
IFTIKHAR S MIZA
Islamabad