Govt approves directors for PIACL board

Endorses nomination of 10 board members for a period of three years

ISLAMABAD:

The government has approved the appointment of nominated directors on the board of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL).

In a recent meeting, the Aviation Division sought approval of the cabinet for the nominated 10 members for the PIACL board of directors, which would serve for a period of three years. One position of director will be filled through election by private shareholders who represent the minority interest.

The cabinet approved the nominations for a period of three years. The board’s ex-officio members included aviation secretary, Finance Division secretary, Economic Affairs Division secretary and PIACL chief executive officer. Its non-executive members included Aslam R Khan (aviation sector), Atif Aslam Bajwa (banking), Captain (Retd) Syed Muhammad Ali Gardezi (civil servant), Dr Jawaid Ghani (IT/ marketing), Barrister Zahid F Ebrahim and Dr Zeelaf Munir (HR/ marketing).

During discussion, a cabinet member noted that some of the proposed candidates had served in the previous PIACL board as well. It was pointed out that as PIA’s restructuring was on the cards, a mix of old and new members would augur well for the sake of continuity. A cabinet member expressed concern that some of the figures, presented during a briefing on PIA restructuring to the cabinet in early October, were allegedly incorrect. The cabinet directed the Aviation Division to confirm the authenticity of figures in the next meeting.

Roosevelt Hotel

Cabinet members stressed the need for addressing the controversy surrounding PIA’s Roosevelt Hotel in New York. It needed to be highlighted that the government was not planning to sell the hotel but instead it was weighing various options to turn it into a profit-making asset, they said. The Aviation Division informed the cabinet that in a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office in June 2020, it was directed that the process of appointing a new PIA board should be completed on priority and the proposed panel should include eminent persons with proven expertise preferably in the fields of law, chartered accountancy, aviation, aircraft finance, marketing and other relevant professions.

It was informed that PIACL was a public limited company and was governed under the Companies Act 2017 and Public Sector Companies (Corporate Governance) Rules 2013.

The PIACL board comprises 11 members/ directors. Under Section 165 of the Companies Act 2017, the federal government nominates 10 directors including those in the ex-officio capacity for being a majority shareholder (96%).

One of the 10 directors will be female under provisions of Section 154 (d) of the Act, leaving one position to be filled through election by the private shareholders representing minority interest. The composition of the outgoing PIACL board was approved by the then prime minister for a period of three years, which ended on June 6, 2020.

The cabinet, through a decision taken on July 23, 2020, allowed the PIACL board to continue to function for a period of 60 days or till the completion of process for the fresh board, whichever was earlier. A proposed panel of 10 directors, consisting of eminent professionals from various fields and including four ex-officio members, was proposed and approval of the prime minister was sought before placing the matter before the cabinet. The premier allowed the placing of matter in the federal cabinet.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2020.

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