KARACHI
President Asif Ali Zardari has told his economic managers and the chief executive officers of mega companies that the boards of directors (BoDs) of all state-run departments and organisations would be dissolved and reconstituted to make them more effective and profitable.
The state-run organisations that can face radical changes in their top brass are Pakistan Railways, Pakistan Steel Mills, Pakistan International Airlines and Trading Corporation of Pakistan, among others.
The president discussed the upcoming budget and suggestions to evolve a strategy to improve the economy at a meeting of the Prime Minister’s Business Persons Council (PMBPC) in Islamabad on Tuesday
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Textiles Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, who also attended the meeting, told Pakistan Today that the council members had pointed out in the meeting that the mega public organisations were devouring billions of rupees every year because of mismanagement, lack of planning and improper hiring at the top level.
The members of the council suggested that either the public organisations be handed over to the private sector, or the experts from the corporate sector be engaged to make the organisations viable and profitable, he said.
Baig said the president asked the chiefs of the Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Engro and Pakistan Electric Supply Company to take urgent measures to overcome the energy crisis in the country. However, the PEPCO chief said that unless the circular debt was cleared, it would be difficult to overcome load shedding.
Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh told the meeting that the Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) would be enforced from July 1. He said, however, that the export sector would not be hurt by the implementation of the RGST.
Textiles Minister Makhdoom Shahab-ud-Din, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr Nadeemul Haq, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Petroleum Dr Asim Hussain, State Bank Governor Shahid Kardar, The Federal Board of Revenue chairman and senior officials of the economic ministries and heads of mega companies also attended the meeting.
