New Delhi, March 20 (NationPress) A recent decision by Pakistan's National Task Force on Energy, led by Power Minister Awais Leghari, to consolidate various outdated state-owned generation companies into the National Power Parks Management Company has faced significant pushback from the existing power bureaucracy, according to a new report.

These outdated firms are said to serve minimal practical functions aside from maintaining bureaucratic structures, yet the task force's directive has not been acted upon, as reported by Business Recorder.

The task force proposed the merger of four GENCOs—Jamshoro, Guddu, Nandipur, and Lakhra—along with their parent company, Genco Holding Company Limited. They argued that the facilities these firms once operated have either been closed or sold off, rendering these entities predominantly administrative shells. Following plant closures, hundreds of employees have been temporarily reassigned to distribution companies, contributing to the obsolescence of these firms.

“Their outdated plants have either been shut down or are in the process of being disposed of following years of inefficiency, elevated operational costs, and persistently poor performance,” the report noted.

Nonetheless, board members of these organizations continue to convene frequently and receive significant compensation in the form of sitting fees and allowances, which incentivizes them to resist change despite the lack of any operational justification for their existence.

“Each meeting yields compensation of at least Rs 1,00,000 per board member, in addition to travel and accommodation costs,” the report highlighted.

Experts indicated that the resistance to such reforms exemplifies a broader trend within Pakistan’s bureaucracy, where institutional interests often hinder reform initiatives that could jeopardize established privileges.

Experts have observed that Pakistan’s bureaucracy has long “refined its resistance to change into a sophisticated practice, prioritizing institutional boundaries and bureaucratic privileges over the efficiency and accountability that are critically needed in the country.”

A recent analysis noted that Pakistan has ensnared itself in a “dangerous economic cycle” by emphasizing short-term expatriate remittances and foreign aid rather than fostering productive development.

Currently, remittances constitute nearly 10 percent of GDP, rivaling export revenues and obscuring systemic failures such as inactive factories, elevated unemployment, and underutilization of the labor force, it stated.

aar/na