ISLAMABAD: The federal government has appointed Brig. Shujah Hussain (retired) as Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM). Pakistan Steel Mills, a state-owned enterprise, is dysfunctional since June 2015. The federal government has decided to revive it through privatisation. A financial advisor is presently evaluating the best possible option mode for the revival of PSM on the basis of various parameters finalized in consultation with Privatisation Commission (PC). PSM does not have a permanent senior executive officer since April 6, 2016.

Accordingly, to fill the vacant post of CEO PSM, advertisement was published in the national newspapers seeking applications from potential candidates. Till the cut-off date, i.e., November 2019, 36 candidates applied for the post of CEO-PSM.

As per the Article 12(c) of the Public Sector Companies (Corporate Governance) Rules, 2013, the Board Human Resources Committee (BHRC) in its meeting held on December, 2019, short-listed five candidates for interviews. Subsequently, interviews were held on December 18, 2019 by the BHRC of the Board. Out of five candidates only three candidates appeared before the committee. On January 16, 2020, PSM Board concurred with the recommendations of the BHRC and recommended the following three candidates in order of the merit for appointment of one of them as CEO-PSM for a period of one year: (i) Brig Shujah Hussain (retd); (ii) Farooq Usman Siddiqui; and (iii) Tariq Ejaz Choudhary.

As per Article 186(4) of the Companies Act 2017 read with Article 87 of Article of Association of Pakistan Steel Mills, the Federal Cabinet is competent to approve the appointment of CEO in line with the legal provisions. The federal cabinet has approved the summary after which Establishment Division issued a notification on August 7, 2020. PSM's past performance is responsible for losses and debts of approximately Rs 500 billion.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020