ISLAMABAD: The incumbent government has made a contentious appointment of a bureaucrat to the post of managing director, Utility Stores Corporation (USC) which is a state-owned entity.
The appointment has been made without having advertised the post and seeking applications from interested aspirants for the post reported Express Tribune.
Before this, the authorities had designated the charge of USC board chairman to the secretary, Ministry of Industries and Production and the selection of a bureaucrat for the MD post has been done to ensure total control over matters of USC.
Following in the footsteps of two state-owned entity’s, Pakistan Steel Mills and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), USC has defaulted on payments during the incumbent governments’ tenure.
A government official defending this appointment said the government had followed the rules, which permitted the Prime Minister to make appointments to any of the state-owned entities in which they had a majority shareholding.
Conventionally, a bureaucrat tends to be appointed mostly on acting basis or they get appointed on deputation, but the government has appointed the designated individual to the post for three years.
The appointment of a regular MD at USC is key to planning and implementing the coming Ramazan relief package.
As per USC’s memorandum and articles of association, the board is permitted to designate a head chosen by the federal government as a majority shareholder for a period of three years.
Following the rules, three names of bureaucrats had been put forth which included Joudat Ayaz (BS-20), Naeem Jan Khan (BS-20) and Habibur Rehman Gilani (BS-21).
A summary had been sent to the Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in this regard by the Ministry of Industries and Production.
And PM Abbasi wanted to appoint Gilani, so the summary was presented before the cabinet which approved this appointment.
Previously, the incumbent government’s appointment of a bureaucrat at USC sparked a row with the minister for industries and production.
And following this, the number of private board members was raised, which created a conflict of interests, which contributed to the USC becoming a loss-making entity.
Currently, the control of USC board and management has been handed over to bureaucrats.
