A Joint Secretary (JS) from the Power Division and a General Manager (GM) from the National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC) are vying for additional charge of the office of Managing Director (MD) lying vacant after sudden resignation of the incumbent one within three months of his appointment, said sources.
The sources added that the Board of Directors (BoD) of the entity was dominated by the ex-officio members from the Power and Planning Divisions of the federal government under the chairmanship of Naveed Ismail and it suits the Board to keep the office under control of the Power Division instead of brining a professional from the market.
On the condition of anonymity, the insiders told this scribe that the present BoD has already managed to replace the previous Board which was looking for a best professional for the office. “On the day of interviews held on October 11, 2020, when the shortlisted candidates were present in the WAPDA House for interviews, the ex-officio members of the Board raised hue and cry as their favourite candidates were not shortlisted and one of them had even walked out of the meeting room,” said the sources. The interviews were called off and the then chairman had directed the HR Committee to review the list of applicants, they added.
A joint Secretary, who was allegedly behind this whole episode, later got his name notified in the HR Committee and he himself added the name of Engr. Azaz Ahmad as a candidate for the post despite that he was not qualifying for the “fit and proper criteria” as per the corporate governance rules.
According to the sources, the ex-officio members of the Board kept delaying the process till the reconstitution of a new BoD after which Engr. Azaz was selected against three other shortlisted candidates with diverse and rich experience of top level management, namely Mujahid Pervaiz Chatta, former CEO LESCO, Maj. Gen. Azeem Asif, ex Chairman/Deputy Chairman ERRA and Member FPSC, and Mujahid Islam Billah, former CEO FESCO/GEPCO and SEPCO.
It is also worth noting that the name of Azaz was on fourth position but still he was selected for the post. This issue was also raised in the senate standing committee on power where officials from the Division had failed to satisfy it.
The NTDC BoD comprises 11 members including the MD NTDC as executive director. Out of 10 non-executive directors, five are ex-officio members from the power division and planning division. The bureaucrats of power division are reported to be earning 1.5 to 2 million per month just on account of BoD meetings fee. Each bureaucrat of power division is reported to have two to three vehicles at his disposal attached from various power sector entities with unlimited fuel and maintenance expenditures besides pay and allowances.
Those pre-empting the move are of the view that transparency demands that the second shortlisted candidate after interview should be asked to take charge of the office.
