Two excellent decisions by Musharraf. He has shown the people that he DOES listen, and he has probably left the opposition speechless, while at the same time enhancing the position of the government. :k:
Long live Musharraf. :k:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\01\18\story_18-1-2006_pg1_1
Basha Dam will be built first: Musharraf
President General Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday announced the construction of Basha Dam as a priority project, postponing a decision on Kalabagh Dam (KBD) until a consensus is developed among all provinces. “The work on Basha Dam will start with its earth-breaking in the first week of February. We have not developed a complete consensus on KBD as there are still reservations about its construction in the NWFP and Sindh,” the president said in his 80-minute televised address to the nation. Gen Musharraf said there were “misperceptions and reservations” about KBD, particularly in the NWFP and Sindh, where people were not supportive of the project. “I respect this public opinion,” he said, but resolved to remove the reservations of the people of Sindh and the NWFP about KBD. He stressed the need for major water reservoirs and said the federal cabinet had already decided to build five dams– Kalabagh, Basha, Akori, Munda, and Kurram Tangi – by the year 2016 to meet a projected water shortage of some 20 million acre feet of water. “After the start of work on Basha Dam, Munda Dam will be the second to follow on completion of its feasibility report,” he said.
Gen Musharraf hoped that with the announcement that the government will be building Basha Dam first, normalcy would return to the country and those creating unrest on the issue of major water reservoirs would be silenced. He explained the technicalities of building dams and underlined the need for water storage and conservation for the economic development of Pakistan. He analysed the water availability situation to be faced by the country in the year 2020 and also drew comparison between KBD and Basha Dam, saying that the former would have the capacity to store 90 million acre feet (MAF) of monsoon water and the latter 50 MAF of glacier water. The president particularly addressed the common man in Sindh and the NWFP, urging them not to be swayed away by the “propaganda” of those who had made KBD a political issue. “I am confident that I will change the opinion of the Sindhis and I will not let Pakistan commit suicide,” he said. Gen Musharraf admitted that KBD was a matter of life and death for the Sindhis but added that the construction of major water reservoirs was a matter of the nation’s development and prosperity. “We have already taken some steps to improve water management,” he said, referring to a World Bank report on Pakistan’s water crisis highlighting the need for dams to increase water storage capacity.
As with KBD, the president admitted that despite all his efforts, he could not develop consensus among the provinces on the issue of the National Finance Commission (NFC) award. “The chief ministers had given me the authority to take a decision on the NFC award and that it would be acceptable to them. But it is unfortunate that the NWFP has put some conditions.” He regretted that under constitutional provisions he could not announce the NFC award until a consensus was achieved. However, as an interim arrangement, he announced that the divisible and subvention pools would be expanded to increase the federal government’s support to the provinces. “The NFC award could not be announced because of disagreement among the provinces,” he said. The provincial share in the divisible pool would be increased from 42.7 percent to 45.33 percent, with a further 1 percent increase each year so it reaches 50 percent in five years. He said the subvention pool would be expanded from Rs 8 billion to 27.7 billion, increasing the share of Balochistan from Rs 4.8 billion to Rs 9.16 billion and the NWFP’s share from Rs 3.9 billion to Rs 9.71 billion. The Punjab and Sindh previously had no share in the subvention pool. Now they will get Rs 3.05 billion and Rs 5.83 billion respectively from the subvention pool.
Gen Musharraf did not mention the recent US air strike in Bajaur Agency in his address, but he did talk in detail about the situation in Balochistan. He said a handful of feudal lords and sardars had been exploiting the people and the country for the last 40 years for their personal interest. “These sardars have established a militia force which is responsible for law and order in Balochistan. These people are behind bomb blasts in Karachi and Lahore,” he said. The president said the government knew about the “foreign elements” sponsoring and funding these sardars’ militia force. “We will deal with all of them,” he said, adding that no military operation was going on in Balochistan. “Only the Frontier Constabulary is carrying out a targeted operation, and that too against the miscreants.” Without naming names, he held Baloch sardars responsible for the backwardness of the province and said he would not let them hinder development projects for the progress of the people of Balochistan. “We will establish the writ of the government and ensure continuity of all developmental projects,” he said.