TCP board reconstituted

Under the restructuring plan of the public sector entities, the federal government has reconstituted the Board of Directors (BoD) of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to enhance the corporate governance, it is learnt. Sources told Business Recorder on Monday that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has approved the new composition of the BoD with immediate effect.
As per the notification issued by the Prime Minister Office, now the TCP board will comprise 10 members, including a Chairman/Chief Executive Office, six representatives from private sector and three from the federal government. Sources said the current restructuring has been done on the recommendations of the Cabinet Committee on Restructuring (CCoR). This step will help improve the corporation''s performance and transparency, they added. Previously, there were five to six board members, including one chairman, three executive directors (from TCP) and one representative from the ministry of commerce. However, there was no single member from the private sector. Under the restructuring process the number of directors of TCP board rose to 10 with private sector given preference. Previously, executive/working directors of the TCP were part of BoD, however in the new arrangement 60 percent representation has been given to private sector and now the working directors will not be part of new board.
According to the notification, Rizwan Ahmed will remain Chairman/CEO while Adnan Afridi, Aftab Manzoor, Faisal Malik, Khaliq ur Rehman, Irfan Qaiser Sheikh and Asim Khurshid will be on the board. Representation of the federal government has also been increased from one to three members and ministry of commerce, ministry of finance and ministry of national food security and research will have representations on the board. A representative, not below the level of joint secretary (BS-20), from each ministry will also be the member of the TCP board, the notification said. Previously, one representative of the ministry of commerce was board member.
Sources said the recomposition of the TCP board will enhance transparency and corporate governance in the state-run grain trader and ensure smooth commodity operations. In 2009, the government decided to restructure some eight public sector entities and a Cabinet Committee on Restructuring (CCoR) was constituted for this purpose. Later, the Cabinet in March 2010 approved a roadmap for restructuring of eight public sector enterprises, including Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco), Pakistan Railways (PR), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), National Highway Authority (NHA), Pakistan Storage and Supplies Corporation (Passco), and Utility Stores Corporation (USC).