ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to review and streamline the existing framework and processes for the appointment and governance of Board of Directors (BoDs) and inclusion of additional layer in the appointments of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), well informed sources told Business Recorder.

In this regard, a Committee headed by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs & Establishment, Ahad Khan Cheema and comprising Secretary Cabinet, Kamran Ali Afzal, Secretary Power Division, Dr Fakhray Alam Irfan, Secretary Finance Division, Imdad Ullah Bosal, Secretary Commerce, Jawad Paul, Special Secretary to the Prime Minister, Shakeel Ahmed Manjnejo, Chairman Federal Board of Revenue, Rashid Mahmood Langrial, Chief Executive Officer Karandaz, Waqasul Hassan, Additional Secretary –II, PMO, Additional Secretary (IF&I), Finance Division, Qamar Sarwar Abbasi and Legislative Advisor, Law & Justice Division has been constituted.

In the first meeting of the Committee, Chair emphasized the need for identification of bottlenecks in the existing framework governing the appointment of directors on the Boards of SOEs for further augmenting transparency and merit in the process.

The committee discussed the pros and cons of the proposal in the light of Terms of Reference (ToRs).

The Committee after detailed discussion identified following issues in existing framework: (i) limited availability of professionals in domains of governance, finance, law and management; (ii) non-availability of ‘Professional Support Unit’ within the ministries to support ex-officio members for meaningful contribution; (iii) ex-officio nominations are limited to parent Ministry, ignoring wider expertise; (iv) absence of Performance Evaluation System (PES) for directors; (v) lengthy four-tier appointment process causing delays;(vi) little value addition at the level of CCoSOEs; (vii) instances of BoDs continuing beyond tenure; (viii) inordinate delays by ministries in reconstitutions of Boards; and (ix) anomalies in appointment of CEOs.

In order to streamline the existing framework for appointment of directors on Boards of SOEs, the committee finalised following proposals: (i) creation of a pool of technical, financial, and legal experts readily available for consideration by the concerned ministries; (ii) improvement in quality of Directors Training Programme for independent directors and incorporation of module for civil servants in SMC/NMC; (iii) introduction of online Directors Training Programme for civil servants; (iv) a prescribed response time for the vetting agencies; (v) review of role of CCoSOEs in the entire framework to enhance its efficacy; and (vi) establishment of a special unit in ministries to oversee the appointment process and performance of the directors.

On appointment process of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) the Committee reviewed the process of appointment of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the SOEs.

After detailed review of existing process, the Committee made following recommendations: (i) introduction of additional layer in appointment process for augmenting transparency and merit, if possible. Finance Division to explore global best practices for appointment process of CEOs; and (ii) BoD to submit a panel of three nominees to the concerned Ministry for final selection. —MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN