ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Division has reportedly decided to appoint Zainulabideen Qureshi as Member (Oil) Oil & Regulatory Authority (Ogra) and done away with selection process of Chairman Ogra after not finding any "dynamic professional," well-informed sources told Business Recorder.

However, insiders claim the selection process for Chairman Ogra has in fact sought to bring in someone "very special" at a special package of Rs 1.5 million per month instead of Rs 0.65 million. The salary of Member Ogra is Rs 0.6 million.

Ogra has been established under the Ogra Ordinance, 2002, to monitor oil and gas sector. As per Section 3 of the Ordinance, the Authority comprises a Chairman and three members, Member (Oil), Member (Gas) and Member (Finance).

The post of the Chairman Ogra had fallen vacant due to expiry of the tenure of the Chairperson on July 17, 2020. In anticipation of the occurrence of the vacancy, the Cabinet Division started the procedure for selection of Chairman Ogra in January, 2020 and the advertisement was published on January 19, 2020.

In all, 38 applications were received within the due date, i.e. February 03, 2020, after which Prime Minister constituted a Selection Committee, for recommending a panel for the post of Chairman Ogra, under Mirza Shahzad Akbar, Adviser to PM on Accountability and Interior.

The Selection Committee held its initial meeting on July 17, 2020 for shortlisting the candidates for final interview; 26 candidates were shortlisted for the post of Chairman Ogra.

During the interviews, the shortlisted applicants were evaluated on account of the relevance of their experience, leadership skills, academic qualification, knowledge of the industry, and ability to run an organization like Ogra.

According to the Cabinet Division, having completed the interview procedure, the Committee observed that none of the candidates secured more than 60% marks. Moreover, the feedback gathered about their claimed credentials from the organizations in Pakistan where the candidates had previously worked was not very encouraging. The Committee was unanimous that a dynamic person with a clear vision, strong leadership qualities and deep knowledge of the oil sector should be assigned the challenge of leading an organization tike Ogra. However, none of the candidates were found suitable enough to be selected as Chairman, Ogra. The Committee also recommended that the remuneration / pay package for the Chairman, OGRA may be revised upwards in order to attract appropriate /suitable candidates for the post.

In light of the recommendations of the Selection Committee, Cabinet Division has proposed that the post of Chairman OGRA may be re-advertised with an upgraded selection criteria and on Special Professional Pay Scale (SPPS) instead of the MP-I Scale, in order to attract better professionals. Meanwhile, Selection Committee recommended the following three candidates, in order of merit, for appointment against the post of Member (Oil), Ogra, for a period of three years and appointment will be subject to verification of their credentials ;(i) Zainulabideen Qureshi ;(ii) Zia-ul-Haq Mirza and ;(iii) Aslm Niazi.-

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020