Press Release
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Mandatory Load-shedding/Outages and Increasing Costs of Electricity are the Results of Hasina Government’s following the Policies prescribed by IMF / World Bank
The Hasina regime has long been deceiving people regarding the production and cost of electricity. They proudly celebrated production capacity of 25000 MWT electricity against the demand of 14000 MWT in the country, whereas people have to pay for higher prices for the extra production due to the so-called “capacity charge” given to her “quick rental” suppliers. We are compelled to pay capacity charges for electricity production that we could not even use. Taka 167.85 billion were paid for capacity charges to them in the first nine months of the last fiscal year for 22,118 MW daily power generation capacity, whereas we were not able to use more than 14000MW a day during that period due to the shortage of demand (“Capacity charge for power: Tk. 16,785cr paid in 9 months”, The Daily Star, July 20, 2022). In total, Taka 540 billion of people’s money have been wasted as capacity charge in the last 3 years (dw.com, July 20, 2022)! Capacity payments for under-utilized independent power producers (IPPs) are heavily affecting the power generation cost and ultimately the common people are bearing the burnt. Now they have dragged the entire country into load-shedding in the name of tackling the power crisis due to global price hike of oil and LNG, bringing a lot of sufferings to the people in this summer season and also disrupting the industrial productions. Yet her government has secured the interests of the surrogate crony capitalists by tactfully not withdrawing the capacity charge.
O People, you have witnessed that all the successive Secular-Capitalist regimes never took any long term comprehensive step to become self-sufficient in power generation even though the power sector is vital for industrialization and is seen as a national security issue. Rather, they have maintained the power crisis to materialize their greedy financial interests. It makes no sense that with all this hard-earned money spent, people are still suffering from scheduled load-shedding under the pretext of the unavailability of coal in the international market or due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Moreover, we cannot expect any good from this secular rulers who follow the IMF-World Bank prescribed policies of privatization of energy sector and let the foreign companies control our oil-gas fields in the name of PSCs (Production Sharing Contracts). Despite abundance of coal reserve in Bangladesh, why have they never planned to develop this mineral resource to use it for electricity and other industrial plants? Rather, they are buying coals from India at a much higher price. They also went for importing high-cost LNG to please the local and foreign Capitalists and their Colonial masters. Why have they never cared to explore and extract hydrocarbon energy from local sources which would keep the energy cost much lower? There have been no comprehensive plan for the primary and renewable energy resources to reduce dependence on imported raw materials for electricity production. Rather, to remain in power by pleasing their colonial masters, they have invited US energy company ‘Excelerate Energy’ as its LNG supplier. By following the IMF-dictated prescriptions, they have entered into privatization program for electricity generation that makes the commodity expensive day-by-day. The “quick rental” projects immensely benefited local Capitalists at the expense of the misery of the common people. By deliberately keeping our local oil and gas exploration company (BAPEX) idle, they have handed over our strategic natural resources to the Colonialist powers. These puppet secular politicians are thus inherently corrupt and evil in nature who are beyond any accountability in the eyes of the man-made laws and have no fear of Allah (swt) and the Day of Judgement.
O Muslims, Islam produces leadership that fears Allah and is accountable to the people under the divine sharia laws. For them, politics is an amanah (trust), and not a career for material gain. So, you need to return to that sincere leadership by bringing back the Khilafah Rashidah (rightly guided Caliphate) on the method of Prophethood. Rulers under the Khilafah will have strong political ambition to serve the people. They will immediately pursue self-reliance programs for ensuring energy sovereignty and independence. They will strictly adhere to the hukm shariah, so there will be no room at all for WB-IMF prescriptions. By placing energy resources like electricity under public ownership and directly supervising it, the imminent Khilafah will end the root cause of the energy crisis and expensive energy. Unlike secular capitalism, Khilafah’s rulers will be guided by the fear of Allah (swt). They will not indulge in any shallow material gains and interests to seek favor from the Capitalists and the Kuffar. So, reject the secular ruling system and mobilize your efforts for the re-establishment of the Khilafah to come out of this miserable state for good. Allah (swt) says,
* اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوۡمٍ حَتّٰى يُغَيِّرُوۡا مَا بِاَنۡفُسِهِمۡ*
*“Allah will not change what is in any nation, until they all collectively make a change occur in what is in themselves.” (TMQ ar-Ra’ad 13:11)
Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir / Wilayah Bangladesh