Wapda not an autonomous body: chairman

Chairman Water and Development Authority of Pakistan (Wapda), Lieutenant General Muzzamal Hussain (retired) said on Monday that Wapda is not an autonomous body and refused to follow recruitment directives of the Establishment Division, saying that NTS companies lack transparency.
He expressed these remarks at a meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Water and Power presided over by Senator Ghous Khan Niazi. It was the first appearance of Chairman Wapda before the Senate committee. He went to each Senator and introduced himself prior to the start of the meeting.
Chairman Wapda said that there was a ban on recruitment prior to 2015. He said, Wapda has appointed 68 employees on daily wages and 516 employees in grade 1 to 18 totalling 584 on contract. The data further reveals that three employees were appointed in BPS 14, 1 in BPS 12, 1 in BPS 9, 10 in BPS 7, 13 in BPS 6, six in BPS 5, three in BPS four, five in BPS three, seven in BPS two and 20 in BPS 1.
The Chairman stated that Wapda appointed 516 employees on contract after lifting of ban by the federal government: 4 in BPS 18, 13 in BPS 17, six in BPS 16, 130 in BPS 14, 21 in BPS 9, 24 in BPS 7, 26 in BPS 6, 73 in BPS 5, 18 in BPS 4, 38 in BPS 3, 71 in BPS 2 and 112 in BPS 1.
The Chairman Wapda informed the committee that no violation has been witnessed in appointments with respect to test, interview, education and experience. Their tests were conducted by the National Testing Services (NTS). "We have followed the procedure in contractual recruitment in accordance with the procedure notified by the Establishment Division," he added.
Senator Nauman Wazir sought a clarification from the Chairman Wapda about the status of Wapda. The Chairman Wapda replied that the organisation was established under an Act of Parliament in 1958. It is an Authority comprising Chairman, Member Water, Member Power and Member Finance. The Authority has all the powers to hire and fire. He added that if Wapda Authority is an autonomous body then it should function independently but if it is getting directives from the federal government ie Ministry of Water and Power, then it is not an autonomous body. Either Wapda should correct its name as a subordinate body of the Ministry or become independent, the Senator maintained.
Senator Nauman Wazir while addressing Chairman Wapda asked him: "Are you a subordinate body to the Ministry or are you the Authority? And does the word autonomous apply to you, though I doubt it?" Chairman Wapda concurred, saying: "I fully agree with you. The truth is somewhere in between".
Additional Secretary Ministry of Water and Power, Hasan Nasar Jamy, informed the committee that if Senator Wazir is talking about recruitment then Wapda is fully independent and the organisation does not inform the Ministry about such things. However, instructions of Establishment Division are passed on to Wapda regarding fresh appointments through third party and are not NTS specific.
Senator Nauman Wazir maintained that the Ministry has no right to instruct Wapda to opt for NTS and urged Wapda to follow a transparent policy to ensure that recruitment is made on merit. The Chairman Wapda also expressed doubts on the eligibility and standards of those companies that give the NTS saying that Wapda's own testing procedures are far better than the private sector companies and their performance is not at par with the requirements of Wapda. Senator Maulana Atta-ur-Rehman, the brother of Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, said that NTS was established by a retired federal secretary and alleged that he earns a lot from candidates.
Most of the Senators argued that Wapda should conduct tests for recruitment in accordance with its own procedures but transparency must be ensured in recruitments. The committee directed that Wapda should be autonomous in letter and spirit; it must not accept directions from anyone.