This is with reference to Shaharyar Khan Baseer’s letter on Pakistan Steel Mill (26 August). One has to agree to the writer’s view in pointing out pathetic state of the Steel Mill. This mill was designed to produce 1.1 million ton steel annually but this target was never achieved. The condition of Steel Mill has deteriorated to such an extent that it is causing a loss of Rs one billion each month and productivity is around 30 percent, the lowest ever. At the same time the condition of plant is in a bad shape and virtually heading towards a total collapse. How can you run the biggest industrial unit by appointing people having no technical know-how about the steel industry?
There are two major reasons of its downfall: union interference and over-staffing. The manpower requirement to run the mill at full capacity is around 10500 employees; if you employ around 17000 it can never be viable nor it can survive. During Musharraf era the Steel Mill was privatised at a meagre sum of Rs 20 billion whereas the cost of land alone was over 100 billion rupees.
If government really wants this plant to run two immediate steps have to be taken. First and foremost is to ban the union and secondly immediately reduce the manpower to 50 percent. There is no other short cut to save this costly asset of Pakistan built with people’s tax money. Now it is for the government to take a decision whether to finally close it down and deprive all from their jobs or take the pill of unpopular decision.
MUKHTAR AHMED
Karachi
