The company has not achieved any of the goals set for it by the Ministry of Industries, Production and Special Initiatives while spending millions of rupees in public money, a private furniture manufacturer has written in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). FP is a subsidiary of the Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC).
The chief executive officer of FP told The Express Tribune that the charges were exaggerated and there were reasons other than incompetence or corruption for the company missing its targets.
FP was set up and registered with the SECP in 2007. It was seeded with Rs150 million and tasked with setting up two centres one each in Peshawar and Chiniot – to train indigenous artisans in furniture manufacture and design. It was also told to establish 75 solar kilns, used to season and dry wood, within two years and hand them over to local manufacturers. Its third task was to participate in international exhibitions to promote Pakistani furniture and to attract foreign investors.
Three years later, the company has built just 10 kilns, at a cost of Rs10 million, and no training centre. And according to the letter, the kilns were built with substandard material and were unfit for the purpose they were constructed for.
Dr Shahzad Ansar, who was appointed CEO in February 2009, said that FP had bought land for a training and manufacturing centre in Chinoit and was in the process of acquiring land in Peshawar.
He said the building of kilns was delayed because there was a flaw in the original design. The design, provided by a foreign consultant, had now been adapted for local needs and conditions. He said the 10 kilns already built would be handed over to local furniture makers.
He admitted that FP had not participated in an international exhibition yet, but added that memoranda of understanding had been signed with four countries for this purpose.
The letter sent to the SECP also accused the CEO of financial irregularities, such as spending Rs10 million on renovating the company office and giving unreasonably high salaries and perks to new appointments.
It also said the company spent Rs225,000 per month on rent without the approval of its board of directors.
The industries ministry set up an 18-member board, consisting of six officials and 12 representatives of the private sector, in April 2008. But the board never really got off the ground and a new 24-member board was re-constituted to supervise FP’s performance in July. Ansar denied the charges. He said the company had recently been audited and was found to be working within its budget. He said all appointments had been made after due process. He said the PIDC had provided FP with a piece of land where it could build a new office so it no longer had to pay so much in rent.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 7th, 2010.
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