Power chiefs to be replaced after CJP retires
Appointments being delayed to avoid risk of being struck down by SC, govt informs IMF team.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. PHOTO: ONLINE/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The government has told International Monetary Fund (IMF) that as part of energy sector reforms, it would replace chiefs of power generation and distribution companies after mid-December, after the retirement of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
The CJP has frequently passed orders to ensure transparency and to follow protocols aimed at ensuring merit in appointments at critical positions.
Sources told The Express Tribune that the government informed the visiting IMF team head Jeffery Franks that it would replace the heads of power sector companies after the retirement of the CJP.
The decision to delay the move was taken in view of an increasing tendency among civil servants to approach the courts.
The government is reported to have convinced IMF team head of its argument. The report his team has produced after conclusion of the $6.7 billion loan agreement indicates this development.
In the report, IMF wrote, “the recent record of interventions by the Supreme Court in economic and administrative issues may be another source of uncertainty” to the programme.
During an interaction with leading economists, Franks has mentioned the issue of appointments. He also mentioned that he was on board the government’s plan to delay appointments to avoid risks of being struck down by the apex court, sources said.
He has come under pressure for designing the IMF programme which many believed to be faulty. The issue of increasing negative coverage with regards to IMF programme in the media came under discussion between IMF Deputy Managing Director Nemat Shafik and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in Washington, the sources said. They also revealed that Dar refused to talk to critics of the programme and instead advised that Franks should himself take up the matter with the country’s economists.
Consequently, Franks held meetings with economists including Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, who has written extensively against the design of the programme. Dr Khan confirmed to The Express Tribune that he met with Franks but did not divulge details.
As part of multi-tier energy sector reforms, the government is bound to reduce line losses, power theft and improve collection, which according to officials, was not possible without removing the top management of the power distribution companies.
In first phase of reforms, the government adopted an easy path and massively increased electricity tariffs, burdening the middle class the most.
The government had also formed a commission that was in charge of making appointments in the public sector. However, the commission’s Chairman Rauf Chaudhry, while talking to The Express Tribune said that appointments of chief executive officers of power generation and distribution companies were not in the commission’s portfolio.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 8th, 2013.
The government has told International Monetary Fund (IMF) that as part of energy sector reforms, it would replace chiefs of power generation and distribution companies after mid-December, after the retirement of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
The CJP has frequently passed orders to ensure transparency and to follow protocols aimed at ensuring merit in appointments at critical positions.
Sources told The Express Tribune that the government informed the visiting IMF team head Jeffery Franks that it would replace the heads of power sector companies after the retirement of the CJP.
The decision to delay the move was taken in view of an increasing tendency among civil servants to approach the courts.
The government is reported to have convinced IMF team head of its argument. The report his team has produced after conclusion of the $6.7 billion loan agreement indicates this development.
In the report, IMF wrote, “the recent record of interventions by the Supreme Court in economic and administrative issues may be another source of uncertainty” to the programme.
During an interaction with leading economists, Franks has mentioned the issue of appointments. He also mentioned that he was on board the government’s plan to delay appointments to avoid risks of being struck down by the apex court, sources said.
He has come under pressure for designing the IMF programme which many believed to be faulty. The issue of increasing negative coverage with regards to IMF programme in the media came under discussion between IMF Deputy Managing Director Nemat Shafik and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in Washington, the sources said. They also revealed that Dar refused to talk to critics of the programme and instead advised that Franks should himself take up the matter with the country’s economists.
Consequently, Franks held meetings with economists including Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, who has written extensively against the design of the programme. Dr Khan confirmed to The Express Tribune that he met with Franks but did not divulge details.
As part of multi-tier energy sector reforms, the government is bound to reduce line losses, power theft and improve collection, which according to officials, was not possible without removing the top management of the power distribution companies.
In first phase of reforms, the government adopted an easy path and massively increased electricity tariffs, burdening the middle class the most.
The government had also formed a commission that was in charge of making appointments in the public sector. However, the commission’s Chairman Rauf Chaudhry, while talking to The Express Tribune said that appointments of chief executive officers of power generation and distribution companies were not in the commission’s portfolio.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 8th, 2013.