The government has put the appointment of Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) chief executive officer (CEO) on hold following its merger with Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB).
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the Power Division to expedite the legislative process for merger of AEDB with PPIB.
The Power division said that hiring of the AEDB CEO is not feasible from open market at this stage of merging the two entities. The Power Division briefed the cabinet in a recent meeting that the AEDB was a statutory organisation established under Alternative Energy Development Board Act 2010.
The appointment of the AEDB CEO was governed under section five of the AEDB Act 2010.
It was stated that after the acceptance of the resignation tendered by Rana Abdul Jabbar as the AEDB CEO and approval of the advertisement by the federal cabinet, in its meeting held on January 4, 2021, the post of AEDB CEO was advertised in the national dallies on January 14, 2021.
The additional charge for the post of CEO was assigned to PPIB Managing Director Shah Jahan Mirza for a period of three months. The said period had expired on June 12, 2021. The process of recruitment for the regular CEO had also been completed.
In the meanwhile, the Power Division moved a summary on the proposed merger of AEDB with PPIB to the Cabinet Committee for Energy (CCOE) for approval of the concept.
The CCOE, in its meeting held on June 18, 2021, approved the concept. The Power Division drafted the requisite legal changes, which would be submitted in the coming days.
As such the case of the said merger was at an advanced stage. In view of the process on merger of AEDB with PPIB, appointment of the AEDB CEO from open market would not be feasible. Hence, it was proposed that the additional charge be assigned to Mirza till the merger of AEDB with PPIB.
The proposal was submitted for approval of the cabinet. The cabinet considered the summary submitted by the Power Division, and approved the proposal.
The government also extended the tenure of incumbent National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) Managing Director Dr Masood till the appointment of new managing director.
NESPAK creates a pool of talented engineers and attains self-reliance in engineering, consultancy to replace foreign consultants.
The incumbent managing director was appointed on July 13, 2018 with the approval of the federal cabinet for a period of three years. The post of NESPAK MD fell vacant on July 12, 2021, on completion of the tenure of Masood.
The process for appointment of a new MD was initiated by the NESPAK board of directors and the post was advertised on April 21, 2021. A total of 31 applicants applied against the advertised post. The human resource committee of the board had shortlisted the candidates for final approval of the board of directors.
The entire process for the appointment and joining of the new MD would not go beyond the end of August 2021.
It is pertinent to mention that as per section 187 of the Companies Act 2017, the retiring chief executive/MD, shall continue to perform his functions until his successor was appointed.
In view of the above and in order to ensure smooth functioning of NESPAK, and also for the sake of continuity of all the ongoing projects, it was proposed that the incumbent MD be allowed to continue as such, till the joining of his successor. The cabinet also approved this proposal.
