The government has failed to appoint a new Managing Director of House Building Finance Company Limited (HBFCL) despite the fact that the term of the Managing Director Azhar Abbass Jaffari ended in January this year.
According to sources, Jaffari still held the post of managing director at the HBFCL without any legal authority and approval from any quarter.
However, Jaffari told agencies that the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s (SECP) section 199 gave him the right to hold the position till the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer (CEOs) of the company.
“I have written many times to the finance ministry for the appointment of a new CEO and seven members of the Board of Directors which were yet to be appointed,” he said, adding when the finance ministry would give him the directions to vacate the post, he would do so without wasting even a moment.
The government had appointed Jaffari as MD and Chairman of the HBFCL on January 5th 2009 for a three year term.
According to sources, after the end of his first tenure posting on 5th January 2012, the issue of the retirement age became the most important in the light of various Supreme Court (SC) decisions, and in the light of the government’s own directive contained in the office memorandum no. 1/8/2011-E-6 dated 15th September 2011. Therefore, no authority in the world could give Jaffari a legitimate second chance to run the government company, they added.
Sources said that after the expiry of his term upon reaching the age of superannuation, Jaffari could not continue his position as the managing director of the company, and could also not use the public money to draw millions of rupees on account of monthly salary. In addition he was not allowed to spend millions of rupees on his traveling and daily allowances, as now all his visits were technically of a personal nature. But he was continuing his position at the helm of affairs, they added.
“Azhar Abbas Jaffari is continuing his post on the strength of the Board resolution passed in August last year. But the Board resolution has no legal standing whatsoever as the circumstantial evidences do not indicate any such ‘resolution’ was passed by the Board in August/September 2011, almost 6 months before Jaffari’s end of term in January 2012,”sources added.
When contacted in this regard, the Secretary Finance Abdul Wajid Rana refused to comment on the issue.
