To work or not to work: Controversy surrounds ad for SEPCO chief

Current CEO Muzaffar Abbasi allegedly seeking extension beyond retirement

SUKKUR: The CEO of Sukkur Electric Power Company (Sepco) is due to retire on December 11 but is apparently trying to extend his services for another term.

CEO Muzaffar Abbasi was given this post around five months ago. Recently, an ad was placed in newspapers to look for a replacement for Abbasi allegedly by the Sepco company secretary, Tariq Majeed Memon. The criterion mentioned in the ad is someone who is over 65 years old and has at least 15 years of experience in a power distribution company.

A senior Sepco officer claimed that a public advertisement is just a formality to reappoint Abbasi as CEO. There are many senior officers available in the company and one of them should be promoted to become CEO, he said. A similar advertisement in 2014 was challenged by 60 Sepco engineers in Sindh High Court Larkana bench and is still pending.

Meanwhile, Memon denied publishing the advertisement. When there was no meeting of the board of directors how could they have approved the ad, he justified. "I disown the advertisement as the [company] secretary," he said.

The board of directors' chairperson, Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui, did own the advertisement. "Publication of the advertisement does not mean that we are trying to make Abbasi continue working as CEO," he said. "The board of directors will finalise three names that will be sent to the water and power ministry. The minister will approve one name for the CEO slot."

Shopaholic?

According to a Sepco official, Abbasi carried out several million worth of purchases without permission from the procurement committee or the Sepco board of directors in the past five months. The total value of these purchases is around Rs1.5 billion.

During a meeting on November 27, 2015, the board of directors questioned Abbasi about these purchases but he failed to justify the expenses. Hence, the meeting was deferred. Sukkur commissioner Abbas Baloch, who is also on the Sepco board of directors, said that Abbasi presented some details into these expenditures but the issue was deferred by the board.

Another senior Sepco officer accused Abbasi of ordering the reconnection of 107,000 electricity connections in Sukkur, Larkana and Dadu. These had been permanently disconnected due to unpaid bills worth Rs1.8 billion.

A follow-up meeting was allegedly scheduled for December 7 while the water and power secretary was also expected to visit on December 9. However, the CEO and his spokesperson are tight-lipped about these developments and the fate of his continued services. Siddiqui also denied that any meeting is scheduled.

In his defence

For his part, Abbasi denied any agenda to seek extension in his service. "I don't know who is spreading such rumours but I am not trying to get an extension," he told The Express Tribune. He denied that a directors' meeting is scheduled for December 7 as meeting notices are usually issued seven days earlier and, so far, no such notice has been issued.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2015.