ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC) Stakeholders’ Group which consists of employees, contractors, dealers, and suppliers while extending full cooperation to the government has urged the federal minister for industries and production to revive the PSMC.
In a letter to Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain, the group said, “The Steel Mills can give a new direction to our economic efforts and thus lead to change in outlook and approach towards problems affecting our country as a whole”
The PSM is a technical entity mostly run by non-technical (men of choice, not knowing the functions of integrated steel plant) appointed by MOI&P/ Government and never monitored their performance negatively cost to PSM/ Economy/ Public Exchequer.
Profit earning PSM has been deliberately destroyed by public office holders to benefit the private sector’s few companies but remained unaccountable despite Supreme Court observation in CP 9/2006, direction to NAB in SMC 15/2009 and complaints by stakeholders.
The PSM accumulated losses were more than Rs224billion, payable debts liabilities were more than Rs344 billion, SSGC bills Rs98 billion till February 2024, approximately Rs100 million per day financial bleeding continue from July 2023 to March 2024 due to MOI&P irresponsible attitude/ negligence, took no notice on the complaints addressed against PSM BOD/ Ad-hoc management. The PSM present BOD is non-professional and management structure is non-existent without CEO from June 2023.
The PSM would have not been in this situation, if MOI&P, successive governments have played their responsible role. In this regard, PSM Key Performance Indicators (KPI) comparative statement from 1985 to 2024 and profiles of chairmen, members of Board of Directors and Management appointed by MOI&P would help you in monitoring the performance of your predecessors.
The PSM location is ideal, local trained human resources are available, captive market but required knowledgeable Board of Directors, professional Management. The PSM can be revived if MOI&P/ SIFC/ government play their responsible role in: - (i) Reconstitution of knowledgeable BOD, appointment of professional management to save time and money; (ii)Resumption of land for PSM upstream and downstream industries; (iii) Reconciliation of accounts for settlement of payable debts liabilities and court cases; (iv)Withdrawal of incentivised and subsidised policies would help in revenue to Federal Board of Revenue; and (v) Initiation of Investigation for fixation of responsibilities against persons at fault, appointed non-professionals in PSM, initiated non-transparent privatization process, introduced incentivized and subsidised policies which negatively costs to country economy/ public exchequer more than $ 15 billion (2005-2023) but remained unaccountable as yet despite complaints.
The PSMC Stakeholders’ Group is available to help the government in revival of PSM and accountability for financial recoveries, as whistleblower. In this regard, your visit to PSM and meeting with all the Stakeholders would help in saving the Country economic ship drowning in the trouble waters.
The group in the letter while expressing displeasure over the establishment of “Export Processing Zone” (EPZ) or “Special Economic Zone” (SEZ) at PSM land has said that the proposal is leading to further financial disaster keeping in view the previous performance of similar zones. Such kind of zones can be established anywhere in the country but PSM cannot be replaced from present location keeping in view its infrastructures attached with Port Qasim.
The PSM is a fit case for accountability of “All the Pillars of State” performance costs to country economy/public exchequer from 1974 to 2024. It would help in improving the governance.
It is an opportunity for Special Investment Facilitation (SIFC) Apex Committee/ Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Government to Revive the PSM for the solutions of problems (provision of input materials at competitive prices) faced by engineering industries and construction sector and provision jobs to local technical human resource. The PSM revival in public sector would provide level playing field to all the players in steel market and help in elimination of private sector monopoly.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024