Editorial»
Hydropower woes
JAN 21 - There is obviously an urgent need to review the whole process under which our hydro-electric projects are being constructed. Considering the low level of income of the average Nepali people, the cost of electricity in the country - said to be one of the richest in hydro-power potentials in the world - is easily the most expensive in the world. The Italian firm, Impreglio Spa, is asking the Nepal Electricity Authority whopping 10 million US dollars (over 730 million rupees) when, according to the Nepalese side, the Italian firm owes three million US dollars to the Nepalese government. A series of meetings were reportedly held but without any result so far. The next meeting to settle the issue is scheduled for next week. When the Nepalese authorities sit for discussions with the Italian firm and, presumably in the presence of the donors including the multilateral financing agencies, it will be in the interest of this country to take some firm decisions no matter how unpalatable they may be.
The fact that a German contractor also claimed more money than he had bid for should be an eye opener. In that case too, the German government was clearly seen to be siding with the German contractor with Germany preparing to pour in more funds for the project. The money would undoubtedly go to the German contractor. Previous reports spoke of the Italian contractor demanding 67 percent more than what was previously agreed upon and the Middle Marsyangdi seems to be heading the same way. This kind of callous attitude on the part of the government as well as donors, whoever they are, cannot but have a negative impact on the welfare of the Nepalese people in general and the electricity sector in particular.
There is, therefore, a need on the part of the government to rethink the manner in which contracts are awarded and strings-attached aid and loans are received. Clearly, in both the Kaligandaki and the Middle Marsyangdi, the contractors underbid in order to get the contracts and then escalated the costs one way or the other to make hefty profits. In such cases, the multilateral financing agencies or bilateral donors cannot be absolved of their faults. The net result is that the Nepalese people have to pay for the mistake of their own government and the avarice of the donor and lending agencies.
Since the prime duty of the government is the welfare of the Nepalese people, it must in future ensure that it does not fall prey to donors whose main purpose, under the guise of aid to underdeveloped countries, is to enrich their own kind. Indeed, in this era of so-called globalization and freedom, aid and loans without the freedom to the recipient is meaningless. Nepal probably is not the only country where this kind of injustice is taking place but it should be the first to voice its strong protest against such practices by developed countries which, incidentally, also control the multilateral financing agencies. Posted on: 2004-01-21 02:49
Headlines
Advertisements
