Ministry of Water and Power has been accused of employing a highly objectionable strategy in relation to promotions in power Distribution Companies (Discos) which have been found to be in violation of rules and without keeping in view the financial health of companies, well informed sources in the Ministry told Business Recorder.
Such sate of affairs exists after Pepco was dissolved and the Ministry of Water & Power took over the operations. Recently, Gepco, Mepco and Lesco have promoted many BPS-19 officers to BPS-20 as Chief Engineers (CEs) and many CEs as General Managers (GMs) without the benefit of vacancies.
Original organogram of Discos, a copy of which is available with Business Recorder, does not show any position of General Managers in the Discos. It is on record that earlier PEPCO posted GMs as CEOs of companies as special cases while the rest of the positions were filled by Chief Engineers. Earlier, Pepco record shows that the posts of Technical Directors (TDs), Operations Directors (ODs), Consumer Services Director (CSDs), Finance Directors (FDs), & HR & Admin Directors in Discos were classified as PEPCO positions and were planned to be filled through executive search by PEPCO itself, in addition to that for the CEOs.
The sources said these are grade-less posts as shown in the prototype organogram of Discos (with the provision of hiring from open market). According to sources, these positions were advertised in 1999 by PEPCO and no one suitable was found in the market to fill the position of Finance Directors. Due to non-availability of suitable candidates with power sector experience, the posts of TDs/ODs/CSDs were then filled through promotion of eligible officers from within the department. However, HR & Admin Managers were recruited from the market. As a consequence of non-availability of professionals from the market the posts of ODs and TDs were filled by in-house officers of the rank of CEs, while the post of CSDs were filled by seniors amongst the commercial cadre (in BPS-20) and also by Chief Engineers. Additionally, in a few cases Pepco using its mandate to fill senior executive positions also posted Chief Engineers against the position of Senior Manager (P&E), Senior Manager (O&M) and Senior Manager (T&G). However, the positions of TDs and ODs remained confined to Chief Engineers, while the posts of the Senior Managers remained confined to SEs for all intents and purposes.
In 2009/2010, to remove stagnancy in promotions, especially, in the engineering cadres, SEs were promoted as CEs and primarily posted against the posts of Senior Manager. Subsequently, after promotion of the incumbent CEs, TDs/ODs as GMs, these GMs were posted as GMs TDs and ODs by upgrading the posts. In fact this was personal up-gradation aimed to remove stagnancy on the one hand and preparing back-up for senior most position of CEOs within the DISCOs. It was thought that these up-graded officers could take over as CEOs, when the incumbents retired. This was thus only a part of the succession plan and in no way construed as any permanent up-gradations of the positions, the sources maintained.
Although basic pay scale of CE & GM is the same, but there is a difference in administrative as well as financial powers vested in these posts. The promotion of officers against the same posts enabled companies to decide issues at sectional level during translational stage. On similar analogy, CEs were posted against the posts of Sr. Managers (P&E), Sr. Managers (C&MO) and Senior Manager (T&G). However, these up-gradations of positions were one time/Pepco specific and prone to revert back to the original position of CEs/SEs after these officers got retired or were posted out.
Now, after the dissolution of PEPCO and full devolution of powers to DISCO Board of Directors (BoDs), the positions of TDs, ODs and Sr. Managers [P&E, O&M and T&G] have once again reverted back to their original level of CEs and SEs respectively. However, the concerned BoDs can post suitable officers of GM rank on any one of these positions after following proper laid down procedure of firstly up-gradation of the posts in question to GM level posts through a detailed requisition and requirement by the CEOs, requirement for the up-gradation in the shape of justification, scrutiny by a scrutiny committee and then approval of the same, ie upgradation of the posts by the BODs as the competent forum.
"In no case, can the existing posts in the Discos be considered as those of GMs or CEs. However, all this is being ignored by the Discos and people are being promoted on the basis of wrong assumptions," commented one of the officials on condition of anonymity.
Another official of the Ministry told this scribe that Senate's Standing Committee on Water and Power, headed by Senator Zahid Khan had recommended that all those officers should be promoted who deserve promotion. These promotions are basically made under the guise of Senate Standing Committee's recommendations. The same committee had recommended that all the contract employees in Wapda and power sector should be removed but this recommendation was never implemented.