MOST of the people were not surprised at the disclosure by Minister for Water and Power Pervaiz Ashraf that the crisis of electricity shortage in the country would not after all be over by the end of the year. It should be recalled that even his colleagues in the party had taken up issue with him when he made categorical assertions in Parliament as well as in public that the curse of loadshedding would vanish by end-December. But for those who had set store by his statements, his Saturday's briefing to the media would have come down like a ton of bricks. One must concede that some, whose businesses had been ruined by the intermittent interruptions of power, had been led to hope against hope that he might deliver. They could be forgiven for overlooking a long list of broken promises by the government. However, as things have turned out, the dark shadows of loadshedding now stand lengthened, as a vast majority had anticipated. According to Mr Ashraf's new promise, they would disappear by next June. It is hard, though, to give credence to it, especially considering the imperatives of ground realities. The Minister has conveniently shifted the blame on to the countrywide criticism of the rental power projects, which, he argues, has dissuaded investors to come forward and take up the challenge of implementing them. Criticism that was based on the suspicion of corruption is difficult to question. One cannot also lose sight of the fact that the functioning of the government does not at all inspire confidence, either among official quarters or business circles abroad. Not only do they scent corrupt practices in every official dealing, but also judge, and very correctly, the government delivering poor governance. In the case of electricity itself, the widespread theft, generally known as the kunda system, remains unchecked, and the IMF that is commonly blamed for increase in power tariff has openly accused the government of failure to control line losses and making up for the loss of revenue by burdening the general public. The Fund appears to be sick and tired of the government's ineptness in this context and has in an interview with this paper disclaimed that it was its pressure that was responsible for the recent hike in the power rates. There are reports of an ensuing court battle to figure out the truth between the charges of corruption in the acquisition of used rental power units and the government denials. One hopes that the issue would be settled on a priority basis. Nevertheless, there is a need to consult experts as well as different stakeholders and devise a comprehensive strategy to tide over the crisis whose debilitating effects extend to the entire socio-economic spectrum.