Cabinet likely to allow issuance of fresh adverts for OGRA chairman's slot

ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Division has asked the federal cabinet to select Member (Oil) from the recommended panel, and allow the issuance of a fresh advertisement to fill the vacant slot of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) chairman.

According to details, the federal cabinet in its Tuesday meeting would take up a 14-point agenda, including appointment of OGRA member (Oil) and chairman; approval for reduction in maximum retail price of remdesivir-100mg injection as well as grant of exemption from Section 23 (1) (a) (vii) of the Drugs Act, 1976; terms and conditions for the appointment of acting chairman for Pakistan Islands Development Authority, Karachi; reclassification of cantonments, declaration of varied constitution for cantonment boards; appointment of chairman (MP-I) and member finance (MP-II) in the Appellate Tribunal under Section 12 A of the Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power Act, 1997; appointment of chairperson (BS-21) in the Environmental Tribunal Islamabad under Environmental Protection Act, 1997, etc.

Sources said that the cabinet is likely to approve the appointment of OGRA member (Oil) as the post had fallen vacant due to expiry of the tenure of the former member on 16th May 2020. The Cabinet Division had started the procedure for selection of the member oil in January 2020, as advertisement in this regard was published on 19th Jan 2020. As many as 18 applications were received by the Cabinet Division within the due date (3rd Feb 2020).

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan had constituted a selection committee under Adviser to PM on Accountability and Interior Mirza Shahzad Akbar to recommend a panel for the post of OGRA member oil. After thorough examination of credentials and detailed interviews, the committee recommended three candidates in order of merit for appointment against the post for a period of three years.

Sources said the selection committee had recommended the names of Zainulabideen Qureshi, Ziaul Haq Mirza and Asim Niazi to fill the vacant slot of OGRA’s member oil.

Zainulabideen Qureshi, who is currently working as OGRA’s senior executive director, is likely to be made the new member oil, sources added.

Meanwhile, the federal cabinet may also grant approval to issuance of fresh advertisement for the post of OGRA chairman, with an upgraded selection criteria and on special performance pay scale (SPPS), instead of MP-I scale, in order to attract better candidates.

The post of the Chairman OGRA had fallen vacant due to the expiry of tenure of the former chairperson on 17th July 2020. The Cabinet Division had started the procedure for selection of the OGRA chairman in January 2020.

In all, 38 applications were received by the cabinet division within due date. The selection committee shortlisted 26 candidates for the post, keeping in view their age, experience and other criteria mentioned in the advertisement.

Interviews for final selection were held on 18th Aug 2020.

Sources said that the selection committee had observed that none of the candidates secured more than 60pc, while the feedback gathered about their claimed credentials from the organization in Pakistan where the candidates had previously worked was not much encouraging and none of the candidates were found suitable enough to be selected as OGRA chairman.

In light of the recommendations of the selection committee, the federal cabinet has been asked to allow re-advertisement of the post of OGRA chairman with upgraded selection criteria.