The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has expressed its inability to remove the Managing Director (MD) of Sui Northern Gas Pipeline (SNGPL), Rasheed Lone, after SNGPL management challenged the Auditor General''s report which observed that his extension in service was in violation of government instructions, Business Recorder has learnt.
"The appointment has been approved by the board of directors, and the selection/appointment process is transparent and merit-based, in line with the best practices," SNGPL said in its reply submitted over the Auditor General observation on MD''s frequent extensions in service.
According to sources, Departmental Audit Committee (DAC) of Petroleum Ministry in its meeting held on March 6, 2010 put the burden of removing MD of SNGPL on the shoulders of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) by reiterating its earlier decision taken on July 3, 2009. DAC, which failed to take any direction, decided to leave the matter to the discretion of PAC, as the extension was granted by Chief Executive ie Prime Minister.
According to auditor general of Pakistan, in pursuance of Cabinet Secretariat letter dated December 4, 2007, re-employment on contract is restricted to few cases where the expertise of the civil servant is required by the autonomous/semi-autonomous bodies/corporations etc; under administrative control of the government and requires approval of the Prime Minister. All cases of re-employment are subject to the following conditions/criteria: (i) non availability of suitable qualified or experienced officer to replace the retiring officer; (ii) the officer is a highly competent person with distinction in his profession/field; (iii) the re-employment does not cause a promotion blockage; and (iv) retention of retiring officer for a specified period is in the public interest.
The MD of SNGPL retired from service in March 2003 after attaining age of supernnuation. Frequent extensions on yearly basis were given to the office since March 2003 without observing the above criteria. Auditor General observed that the continuous extensions of MD had blocked the promotions of senior most officers. It has been noted that the frequent extensions were not in line with the instructions of cabinet secretariat, as it had blocked the induction of new/young blood generation through promotions. An amount of Rs 29.88 million was paid to the officer since March 2003 to March 2009.
SNGPL in its reply said that appointment of MD is the prerogative of the major shareholder ie government of Pakistan. The continued retention of present incumbent is considered appropriate by the government of Pakistan, especially in view of his illustrious professional career as an engineer and a manager.