Govt to re-advertise PTDC MD post

The government has decided to re-advertise the post of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) managing director.

The Cabinet Division had sent a summary to the cabinet that comprised three candidates in order of merit.

However, the cabinet observed that the candidates were not suitable for appointment and gave directive for revising criteria to attract more suitable candidates for the post.

The cabinet secretary informed the forum that PTDC was functioning as a corporation under administrative control of the Cabinet Division. PTDC was incorporated under the Companies Act 2013 as a limited company with 99.3% shares owned by the federal government.

 In terms of Article 112 of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the managing director is the chief executive of the corporation.

In terms of Article 112(a) of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of PTDC, read with Section 187(4) of the Companies Act 2017 and Rule 5(2) of the Public Sector Companies (Corporate Governance) Rules 2013, the federal government is the competent forum to appoint MDs/CEOs of public sector companies.

On a summary initiated by the Cabinet Division dated August 17, 2020 and seeking approval to fill the post of PTDC MD on a regular basis, the prime minister, while approving upgrade of the post to MP-I scale, directed that the recruitment process shall be made in accordance with Rule 5(2) of the Public Sector Companies (Corporate Governance) Rules 2013.

The Finance Division also endorsed the approval for conversion of the post of PTDC MD into MP-I scale.

Regarding the recruitment process, it was informed that the post of PTDC MD (MP-I scale) was advertised in the national dailies on July 22, 2020. A scrutiny committee was constituted to shortlist the applications. A total of 59 candidates applied for the position.

The scrutiny committee, after reviewing credentials of the applicants, recommended 20 candidates for interview.

Thereafter, the interview committee, headed by the PTDC board chairman, interviewed the 20 candidates.

The interview committee recommended a panel of three candidates in order of merit for the post, which included Farhan Zakir, Saadat Muzaffar and Shabbir Shehzad.

Proceedings of meetings of the scrutiny committee and interview committee were placed before the PTDC board in its 90th meeting held on October 22, 2020.

The board of directors endorsed recommendations of both the committees and the panel of candidates for approval by the competent authority as per Rule 5(2) of the Public Sector Companies (Corporate Governance) Rules 2013 along with KPIs for the PTDC MD.

The observations raised by the Establishment Division were also brought to the notice of the cabinet.

Recommendations of the interview committee and their subsequent endorsement by the PTDC board were submitted for consideration of the federal cabinet.

The cabinet secretary pointed out that while the observations raised by the Establishment Division could be adequately addressed as there was no procedural lapse in the entire process, the candidates available in the pool were not of the desired quality and experience in the tourism sector.

The prime minister, after going through credentials of the recommended candidates, observed that none of the proposed individuals possessed the requisite skills set and necessary background in the tourism sector required to revamp the organisation.

The special assistant to the prime minister on overseas Pakistanis and human resource development commented that though the candidates met the basic criteria required for the position of MD, in order attract more suitable candidates the required criteria/ terms of reference would have to be revisited and upgraded.