The Federal Cabinet which is scheduled to meet on Tuesday (today) with Prime Minister, Imran Khan, in the chair, is expected to approve Raza Abbas Shah as Chief Executive Officer of Engineering Development Board (EDB) and Rizwan Bhatti as CEO Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), well-informed sources told Business Recorder.

Sharing the details, sources said, the post of CEO, EDB, Ministry of Industries and Production, has been vacant since March 31, 2017 and the business of the organization is being carried out on look after basis.

The position of CEO, EDB was advertised in leading national dailies on August 18, 2019. A total of 91 applications were received up to the closing date of the advertisement. A committee was constituted to scrutinize the particulars of all the applicants in terms of eligibility criteria for the post of CEO, EDB.

The committee of Ministry of Industries and Production shortlisted 23 candidates for interview. In terms of Establishment Division's Office Memorandum (OM) of December 27, 2018, a Selection Board comprising the following interviewed the shortlisted candidates on October 10, 2019: (i) Advisor to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production; (ii) Secretary, Ministry of Industries and Production; (iii) Additional Secretary-II, Ministry of Industries and Production; and ( iv) Additional Secretary-II, Establishment Division.

The Selection Board recommended a panel of following three candidates in order of merit for appointment against the post of CEO, EDB: (i) Raza Abbas Shah; (ii) Naveed Akram Ansari; and (iii) Waqar Ahmed Khan.

Ministry of Industries and Production has proposed to the Cabinet that a suitable candidate from the panel should be appointed CEO EDB in MP-1 scale for a period of two years subject to a one-month notice from either side.

Establishment Division will submit a detailed report on existing vacancies of CEOs/MDs in Ministries/ Divisions and their attached departments. Ministry of Law and Justice will table a summary about the appointment of Federal Insurance Ombudsman. The Federal Cabinet is also expected to appoint Rizwan Bhatti as CEO, PIDC, Ministry of Industries and Production. Presently, he is CEO National Industrial Parks, Development and Management Company (NIP). The Ministry has already suggested that NIP should be merged with PIDC.

The Cabinet will ratify the decisions taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet in its meeting held on November 8, 2019. The Cabinet will also ratify the decision taken by the Cabinet Committee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CCoCPEC) in its meeting held on November 1, 2019.

The Cabinet is expected to discuss the judgment of Lahore High Court in the case of former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, besides other issues related to politics. Some of the Cabinet members are also expected to raise the issue of recent statements of former Prime Minister, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Speaker Punjab Assembly, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Minister for Information Technology and Telecom, Dr. Maqbul Siddiqui and other MQM leaders.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019