ISLAMABAD – In order to elect competent professionals at the apex engineering forum of the country, Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC), the National Assembly Standing Committee on Science and Technology Friday directed enhancing the contesting fee five times for the governing body and making it non-refundable.
The committee, which met with Abdul Qadir Khanzada in the chair to discuss the PEC by-laws pertaining to its elections, said the fee for contesting elections for the office-bearers of the PEC was too little. The current fee for the office of chairman is Rs 5000, Rs 4,000 for senior vice-chairman, Rs 3,000 for vice-chairman and Rs 2,000 for the governing body members.
The committee disagreed to the proposal of the PEC that any candidate guilty of misconduct or corruption should be barred from contesting elections for at least for two terms and recommended that the ban should life long. The committee strongly opposed the inclusion of technologists in the PEC body and said there should be a separate body for them as their registration with the PEC would cause problems.
“The technologists’ registration with the PEC cannot be allowed as it will allow entry of non-professionals into the PEC which in turn sideline the professional and experts. It is vital to the effectiveness of the PEC that it is controlled by the professional,” the chairman of the standing committee said.
