Chairman Privatisation Commission Muhammad Zubair has reportedly snubbed Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) for sale of inventory worth Rs 4 billion without informing the Commission which is readying the entity for sell-off, well informed sources in Ministry of Industries and Production told Business Recorder. Zubair, sources said, has written a letter to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), PSM, Major General Zaheer Ahmad Khan (retired) on the sale of inventory.
Copies of the letter have also been sent to Secretary Ministry of Industries and Production, Arif Azim, Secretary Finance, Dr Waqar Masood and Special Assistant to Finance Minister. CEO PSM is under fire at every forum for not performing as per the commitments he made with the Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar to get Rs 18.5 billion bailout package. Chairman National Assembly''s Standing Committee on Finance, Qaisar Ahmad Sheikh at a recent meeting of National Assembly''s Standing Committee on Industries and Production angrily stated that the incumbent government has spent Rs 25 billion on PSM but the outcome is zero, adding another Rs 25 billion will not have any effect on its performance.
"You may recall that in March 2015, PSM had an inventory worth Rs 9 billion. The same is now reduced to Rs 5 billion and approximately Rs 4 billion has been spent on various miscellaneous expenses as reported by PSM. It is alarming to note that while the operations of the mill stand totally closed yet an amount of Rs 500 million is spent on top of Rs 480 million which the federal government has been releasing as salaries for the employees of PSM since the past six months," said Zubair in the letter.
According to Chairman PC, the federal government is seriously concerned at the disposal of Rs 4 billion inventory without intimation. Official documents submitted by the MoI&P to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Industries and Production on December 30, 2015 reveal that Rs 9 billion material inventory was available in June 2015 when the SSGC disrupted gas supply which implies that PMS sold inventory of Rs 4 billion just in six months.
"This is not acceptable and may I advise that in future any sale/ disposal from the balance inventory worth Rs 5 billion be only done after soliciting approval from the PC," warned Zubair. PC has also directed the management of PSM to share a list of expenses which can be reduced or cut due to the closure of the mills, the sources continued.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that PSM which is unable to pay salaries to its employees has hired the services of an "influential" at a heavy package for Islamabad office despite the fact the PC has imposed a ban on fresh hirings. The "influential" does not attend office but draws his salary. Ministry of Industries and Production had sent a summary to the Prime Minister for another bailout package of Rs 24 billion to revive the plant in three phases. However, it is unknown where exactly the summary is located at present.