The Senate Power Committee referred the matter of recovery of the amount of damaged Guddu Combined Cycle Thermal Power GT-14 (747MW) to the Federal Investigation Bureau (FIA).
A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Power was convened today under the Chairmanship of Senator Saifullah Abro at the Parliament House.
The committee discussed at length the matter of the recovery of the amount of damaged GT-14 (747 MW) from General Electric (GE) and after being dissatisfied with the briefing by the acting CEO GHCL directed the Power Division to refer the matter to the FIA as the amount of $32 million is in question.
The committee also directed the Power Division to refer to the matter of the constitution of the new Members of BoDs and also recommended appointing fresh Members of BoDs as per qualification and merit.
The committee while discussing the matter inquired about the action taken regarding the three letters issued by the Power Division on 31-3-2022 on the recovery amount to which the acting CEO, GHCL apprised the committee that the letter issued by the Power Division and the actions to be taken therein were rejected by the BoD, GHCL as the BoD did not approve of the allegations therein.
The committee showed amazement at the exercise of such authority and inquired about the rationale behind rejecting the letter by the ministry. The acting CEO, GHCL confirmed the fact that the entire management of the GHCL was lacking competency and persistence lethargy responsible for corrupting the whole department.
The committee while further discussing the status of the appointment of CEO GHCL recommended re-advertising the post with qualification requirement as a combination of both the degrees/diploma Engineering and Business Administration and in case the company already has a CFO with the required qualification, the only degree to be preferred is that of “Engineering”.
The committee also sought a list of scrutiny based on the previous advertisement. The acting CEO of GHCL also admitted the fact that no revamping took place leading to consistent irregularities and damages to the power sector.
Furthermore, the committee unanimously decided to make Amendments to the “State-owned Enterprises (Governance and Operations) Act, 2023 (Act No. VII of 2023)” regarding matters of appointments, the composition of the BoDs, and other matters of the HR in the Power Division and observe strict relevancy.
The committee while taking a briefing on the progress of the 2X66 MW (132MW) Coal Fired Power Project, Jamshoro, showed resentment on the unpreparedness of the representative of the acting CEO, GENCO-I, and showed serious concern over the fact that when the allotment of the total amount of the project has been made how come it is still not completed.
The committee lamented that had it been completed 2 years back when the dollar was at Rs. 160, the country would have saved double the amount of money it requires now. The committee directed to take written action against the officers responsible for its delay; the committee also sought details of the cars being consumed on the project and sought details on its progress and completion in the next meeting.
The meeting was attended by Senators Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, Prince Ahmed Umer Ahmedzai, Bahramand Khan Tangi, and Senator Muhammad Asad Ali Khan Jenejo. Secretary Power Division and other senior officers of related departments were also in attendance.
Source: Pro Pakistani