Foreign courses sans entitlement: OGDC managing director initiates inquiry

The Managing Director of Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC), Shah Mahboob Alam, has initiated an inquiry against those officials who had devised a plan to spend millions on training courses in UK, UAE and USA without following proper procedure.
Sources said that the MD has formed a three-member special committee, comprising Executive Director (ED) Finance, General Manager (GM) Internal Audit (I/A), and General Manager (GM) Oil and Gas Training Institute (OGTI), to probe these irregularities of Human Resource (HR) officials. Sarfaraz Siddiqui, GM (OGTI), had drawn MD's attention to foreign training proposals recommended by HR Department that had not followed procedure as laid down in the prevailing policy, duly approved by the Board of Directors in 2007.
According to documents available with Business Recorder, Khan Alam, Manager (HRD), had prepared a summary to send four officials on training courses abroad at an estimated cost of $61,672. He had also sought approval for his own participation in Training Human Resource Management Skills and Techniques by Crown Agents International Training Centre UK at an estimated cost of $10,751. He is a geologist.
GM (HR) Muhammad Mureed Rahmoon was recommended for training in Managing Change in Dynamic World in John F Kennedy Government School Harvard, USA, at an estimated cost of $17,620. According to documents, he is a section officer of BPS-18 and deputed as GM. He is allegedly drawing a salary of Rs 356,923 per month without approval of the Board of Directors. It is interesting to note that his basic salary is Rs 17,560 per month and he is receiving Rs 238,000 per month additional allowance. As a deputed official, he is not eligible to draw such hefty additional allowance. According to foreign training policy, those deputed can not be considered for training abroad. But GM HR was recommended for foreign training due to which MD of the company was compelled to take notice.
Fasih Azhar, Executive Director (ED), was recommended for a training course abroad at an estimated cost of $20,270 for 19 days in state and local government at JFK Government School, Harvard, USA. He is on contract and, as per existing foreign training policy, he is not eligible for training course abroad.