What a precedent to set!

So its finally been established. Vandalism, violent protests and support from the politicians is what it takes to get just about anything done, or undone, in Pakistan. So, watch out Mr Prime Minister, you may find yourself up against rioting policymakers when you
ight size your cabinet.
After successfully putting off everybody who had an iota of economic rationality in the reversal of oil price episode, the government has now reinstated the employees of a private organisation.
Granted that KESC is an essential utility, whose privatisation in the first place is questioned by some. It has now been handed over to a private investor, which has tried to achieve some progress towards making it profitable.
Karachiites cry foul about the power outages, but many were blindly unconcerned when the laid off employees were ransacking the head offices of the organisation and physically assaulting the management.
Seeking out the opportunity to oil their engines, politicians took the noble yet populist stance of providing livelihoods to the laid off workers.
Forcing a withdrawal of the electricity distributor will save jobs in the short term. But as the utility company remains inefficient and power outages hit industrial units later this summer, more jobs might be lost as a result.
High on the reform agenda of the government is the corporatisation and privatising of the PSEs that cost around Rs250 billion annually. The KESCs saga will serve as reminder to any investors considering investments in the country, just as the freezing of forex accounts shortly after the nuclear tests in 1998 remained fresh in the collective conscience of the society for nearly a decade.
"Investors are like a flock of birds, they fly away at the slightest hint of trouble. Stable political and economic policies that are consistent are just the basics of what an investor looking to inject liquidity into the economy is looking for", shared an official at the Board of Investment in Islamabad.
Rumour has it that the investor behind KESC is considering exit options in the face of increasingly stiff structural pressures. Some investors, with minor holdings, are considering suing the company for succumbing to political pressure instead of sticking to its guns.
At least one thing is for sure, when power outages haunt the citizens of Karachi this summer, no one will be able to point a finger towards KESC for dragging its feet on improving operating margins.