PM Office calls for taking charge from SNGPL MD

Raises observations over potential candidates for post of managing director

ISLAMABAD: The appointment of managing director of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) suffers more delay after the Prime Minister’s Office has raised observations over potential candidates and has called for withdrawing additional charge from the current head of the utility.

The Petroleum Division had moved a summary to the PM Office on January 1 to appoint a full-time head of SNGPL.

SNGPL Acting Managing Director Amer Tufail and Senior General Manager Sohail Gulzar were potential candidates in the summary moved by the Petroleum Division. SNGPL board of directors had shortlisted them and recommended three names to the Petroleum Division.

However, the PM Office returned the summary to the Petroleum Division following “low-down” reports about the proposed candidates - Amer Tufail and Sohail Gulzar. It also called for referring the matter of these two employees to the SNGPL board for appropriate action.

The SNGPL board is now set to take up the agenda of withdrawing the acting charge from Tufail and may assign the acting charge to SNGPL Senior General Manager Azam Khan Wazir, following the observations raised by the PM Office.

The PM Office had conveyed to the Petroleum Division that another senior official may be proposed for the acting charge of SNGPL managing director for a period of 90 days or till the appointment of a full-time MD, whichever is earlier.

Moreover, it said Tufail’s charge as acting managing director may be withdrawn.

The prime minister had also obtained a list of senior officers of SNGPL to assign the acting charge. It said Wazir with a total service length of 24 years and four months in SNGPL is the most senior official in the company. Second is M Aslam, Senior General Manager (Compression) with total service length of 33 years and two months in SNGPL. But he has retired now.

Third is Faisal lqbal, Chief Financial Officer with total length of 11 years and 10 months in SNGPL.

The PM Office observed that Rule 5(2) of the Public Sector Companies (Corporate Governance) Rules 2013 provides that “the board shall recommend a panel of three officers to the federal government/cabinet for appointment of any one of them as the CEO/MD.”

Since these two candidates have been found unsuitable owing to their adverse low-downs, the proposed panel falls short of the three requisite officers.

The PM Office said regarding the appointment of SNGPL MD, it may be referred to the board of directors with directives to propose names of at least five candidates from the list of already shortlisted 15 candidates, excluding Tufail and Gulzar, for onward submission to the PM Office and Cabinet Division.

After receiving the letter, the Petroleum Division wrote a letter to the SNGPL board chairman for action in light of the observations raised by the PM Office.

The SNGPL board is now meeting on Saturday to take decisions pertaining to assigning the acting charge to other senior official and proposing five other names to appoint full-time head of the utility in light of the observations.

When contacted, a Petroleum Division spokesperson said “the SNGPL board is meeting this Saturday but the agenda of the meeting is privileged information which cannot be shared till decisions are approved and taken, and become public property.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2020.

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