Alleged corruption in Sindh’s Solar Project Trigger Senate Tensions

The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro, voiced serious concerns over alleged corruption and mismanagement in the Sindh Solar Energy Project (SSEP) and other public welfare initiatives.

The committee meeting, attended by Senators Haji Hidayatullah Khan, Falak Naz, Kamran Murtaza, Rahat Jamali, Kamil Ali Agha, Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan, and Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, focused heavily on the shortcomings of the SSEP, which aims to provide solar systems to low-electricity-consuming households.

Officials informed the Senate body that while 23,000 solar units had been distributed so far, over 250,000 systems still awaited deployment. This slow progress and incomplete transparency triggered harsh criticism from Chairman Abro, who demanded a detailed breakdown of distribution and procurement costs.

“You are not giving a break-up of solar. The advertisements are running as if Sindh has been turned into Switzerland,” Abro remarked, expressing skepticism about the project’s public portrayal versus its ground realities.

Senate Committee Questions Procurement and Costs, and NGO Payments

The committee also raised alarms over the scheme’s exclusion of the poorest energy consumers, who could not afford the Rs6,000 upfront cost. Abro questioned the financial irregularities in awarding contracts, highlighting discrepancies where solar systems initially quoted at Rs 10,000 were later procured for Rs 32,000.

Officials revealed that 18 companies participated in the bidding, with contracts awarded to three firms, including a Chinese company. In addition, it was pointed out that 10% of project charges were allocated to NGOs—five times the normal 2% consultancy rate used in other departmental projects.

The Senate body directed the Project Director (PD) of SSEP to submit detailed reports, including the customs, taxes, and duties breakdown on the solar kits, and to obtain fresh market quotations from Lahore, Karachi, and Peshawar for comparison.