New CEO EDB''s appointment: Ministry decides to initiate process next month

Ministry of Industries and Production (MoI&P) has reportedly decided to initiate the process of appointing a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Engineering Development Board (EDB) next month as the contract of the incumbent (under-investigation) CEO Tariq Ejaz Chaudhary will expire on March 31, 2017, well-informed in EDB told Business Recorder.
The appointment of incumbent CEO was made on the recommendations of a three-member selection committee comprising Khawaja Zaheer, a top aide of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, former Secretary Industries and Production, Raja Hasan Abbas and incumbent Senior Joint Secretary, Arif Ibrahim. However, the committee deliberately ignored the fact that the two degrees of the favoured candidate were from universalities which are not recognised by Higher Education Commission''s (HEC) which is mandatory for anyone who applies for a government job.
However, when the issue of degrees came into the notice of Minister for Industries and Production six months ago, he directed Secretary Industries, Khizer Hayat Gondal to investigate the matter and submit a report to him.
The sources said, the committee headed by Additional Secretary Sher Ayub Khan is probing the matter "effectively and actively" to finalise recommendations for the Secretary which would subsequently be submitted to the Minister.
According to sources, the probe committee summoned the incumbent CEO on November 18, 2016 to the Ministry and quizzed him on the authenticity of his degrees and directed him to present original degrees so that their genuineness could be further verified from the concerned universities.
The sources said the CEO informed the committee that his original degrees were at his residence in Lahore and promised to produce to the committee on Monday (today). A couple of questions were sent to the co-ordinator of the incumbent CEO to seek his comments by the inquiry committee but he did not reply.
A top aide to the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also told Business Recorder that Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar has also received complaints against the incumbent CEO EDB.
Minutes of the latest ECC meeting examined by this newspaper confirm that Finance Minister "expressed his displeasure over submission of company-specific policy proposal to the ECC, saying that the Ministry of Industries and Production should prepare policies which should be applicable to all concerned and should not be focused on benefiting a single beneficiary".
Meanwhile, sources said, Ministry of Industries has taken a principle decision to kick off the process to hire new CEO as the entire process will take a few months starting from the advertisement in the press.
"EDB is a very important organisation which deals with the country''s engineering industry needs a permanent CEO as the previous experience of giving additional charge to the Secretaries of MoI&P remained unsuccessful," the sources continued.