Perks: Bureaucrats try to secure lucrative posts
Top positions in govt’s power generation initiative up for grabs.
PPPMCL has been set up by the government with an equity injection of Rs1 billion to oversee the construction of 10 coal-based power plants. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Well-connected bureaucrats are set to create lucrative job opportunities for themselves by exploiting the government’s efforts to overcome chronic power shortages through the addition of 6,600 megawatts (MW) of electricity from coal-fired plants in Balochistan.
A hefty monthly salary of Rs1.602 million has been proposed with a guaranteed 5% annual increment for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pakistan Power Park Management Company Limited (PPPMCL), according to sources in the Establishment Division. The federal government has launched the company for the purpose of establishing 10 power plants at Gadani and Balochistan to generate 6,600MW of electricity.
The salary package has already been approved by the Board of Directors of the company and efforts are underway to seek the final nod from the Establishment Division and the Ministry of Finance, sources in the Establishment Division told The Express Tribune.
The proposed hefty salaries will benefit bureaucrats who have joined or will be joining the company in the coming days on deputation, the sources said. For the deputy CEO of the company, a salary of Rs1.2 million has been proposed, while the deputy General Manager of the company will receive Rs752,000.
Presently, Nargis Sethi, the Secretary Economic Affairs Division (EAD), is also the CEO of the PPPMCL. She has taken two other officers of the EAD, Zafar Nasrullah, a grade 20 officer and Zafar Yab, a grade 18 officer, with her to serve in the company. Nasrullah is serving as deputy CEO of the company.
According to the government’s rules, government officers can avail 20% deputation allowance or Rs6,000 per month project allowance in case they are working on a project other than their routine assignments.
The posts of CEO, deputy CEO and Director Administration are occupied by federal bureaucrats. The sources said that the rules did not allow any civil servant to draw two salaries or even claim benefits of deputation or additional charge except an allowance of Rs6,000.
A case has now been moved to the Establishment Division and the Ministry of Finance to approve these packages. The sources said the Establishment Division was reluctant to allow the civil servants to avail these hefty packages.
A meeting convened to approve these packages remained inconclusive after both the finance ministry and the Establishment Divisions raised objections over the proposals. Such high packages can only be offered to highly qualified people hired from the private market through a competitive process, they added.
After coming into power, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had announced setting up 10 coal-based power plant to generate 6,600 MW of electricity. To implement the plan, PPPMCL has been setup with an equity injection of Rs1 billion by the federal government. The company will help in developing requisite infrastructure like roads, electricity, residential areas and most importantly provision of water.
So far, only one channel approved the salary packages which are yet to be approved by the competent authorities, said the PPPMCL spokesman Zafar Yab while talking to The Express Tribune. He said it will be up to the Ministry of Finance and the Establishment Division to allow or deny the Rs6,000 monthly allowance or extend benefits that are available to any other person hired from the market.
He maintained that the company’s employees will avail only those benefits available to other companies like the Private Power Infrastructure Board. He said the company’s CEO Nargis Sethi wanted to have a small workforce aimed at getting results at a faster pace.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2014.
Well-connected bureaucrats are set to create lucrative job opportunities for themselves by exploiting the government’s efforts to overcome chronic power shortages through the addition of 6,600 megawatts (MW) of electricity from coal-fired plants in Balochistan.
A hefty monthly salary of Rs1.602 million has been proposed with a guaranteed 5% annual increment for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pakistan Power Park Management Company Limited (PPPMCL), according to sources in the Establishment Division. The federal government has launched the company for the purpose of establishing 10 power plants at Gadani and Balochistan to generate 6,600MW of electricity.
The salary package has already been approved by the Board of Directors of the company and efforts are underway to seek the final nod from the Establishment Division and the Ministry of Finance, sources in the Establishment Division told The Express Tribune.
The proposed hefty salaries will benefit bureaucrats who have joined or will be joining the company in the coming days on deputation, the sources said. For the deputy CEO of the company, a salary of Rs1.2 million has been proposed, while the deputy General Manager of the company will receive Rs752,000.
Presently, Nargis Sethi, the Secretary Economic Affairs Division (EAD), is also the CEO of the PPPMCL. She has taken two other officers of the EAD, Zafar Nasrullah, a grade 20 officer and Zafar Yab, a grade 18 officer, with her to serve in the company. Nasrullah is serving as deputy CEO of the company.
According to the government’s rules, government officers can avail 20% deputation allowance or Rs6,000 per month project allowance in case they are working on a project other than their routine assignments.
The posts of CEO, deputy CEO and Director Administration are occupied by federal bureaucrats. The sources said that the rules did not allow any civil servant to draw two salaries or even claim benefits of deputation or additional charge except an allowance of Rs6,000.
A case has now been moved to the Establishment Division and the Ministry of Finance to approve these packages. The sources said the Establishment Division was reluctant to allow the civil servants to avail these hefty packages.
A meeting convened to approve these packages remained inconclusive after both the finance ministry and the Establishment Divisions raised objections over the proposals. Such high packages can only be offered to highly qualified people hired from the private market through a competitive process, they added.
After coming into power, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had announced setting up 10 coal-based power plant to generate 6,600 MW of electricity. To implement the plan, PPPMCL has been setup with an equity injection of Rs1 billion by the federal government. The company will help in developing requisite infrastructure like roads, electricity, residential areas and most importantly provision of water.
So far, only one channel approved the salary packages which are yet to be approved by the competent authorities, said the PPPMCL spokesman Zafar Yab while talking to The Express Tribune. He said it will be up to the Ministry of Finance and the Establishment Division to allow or deny the Rs6,000 monthly allowance or extend benefits that are available to any other person hired from the market.
He maintained that the company’s employees will avail only those benefits available to other companies like the Private Power Infrastructure Board. He said the company’s CEO Nargis Sethi wanted to have a small workforce aimed at getting results at a faster pace.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2014.