The Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSOEs) has shown good progress towards the reform agenda of Pakistan’s State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). At a meeting convened on Thursday, the committee endorsed the classification of the NHA and Pakistan Post Office Department as the critical SOE. All these decisions are in line with a global plan to enhance the governance and management of important Public Sector Bodies.
Special Meeting with Finance Minister
The meeting was chaired by Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, who is the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue. It was honored to have prominent personalities like the Minister for Housing and Works, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada; Minister for Economic Affairs, Ahad Khan Cheema; Minister for Petroleum, Awais Ahmed Leghari; and Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Other participants consisted of Chairman/SECP Pakistan, Additional Attorney General Pakistan, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Federal Secretaries, Directors and other officials of different ministries.
NHA Officially Recognized As Essential SAE
The Ministry of Communications has come up with a recommendation in order to categorize the NHA as an essential State-Owned Enterprise. The rationale for which is authorities linked with the implementation of government policies with significant impacts for national security and social and economic development that are executed by the NHA. Subsequently, the proposal was recommended and accepted with the approval of the committee, thus NHA being categorized as one of the relevant SOEs under Paragraph 9 of the SOEs Policy 2023.
Pakistan Post Office Department (PPOD) Achieves Strategic Importance
In the same respect, in connection with PoB, the Ministry of Communications suggested the classification of the PPOD as a strategic and essential State-Owned Enterprise. Due to this, it was easier for the committee to support the proposal owing to its broad geographical coverage since it plays a significant role in the public sector. This new status is going to be beneficial to the organization in that it will place PPOD in a vantage point to harmonize its functions to match those of the government’s strategic plans.
Defense Production Establishments: A Strategic Move
The Ministry of Defense Production also put forward a proposal for the strategic classification of defense production establishments. These are the public sector organizations related to Pakistan, like Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF), Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT), Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW), National Radio Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC), and Telephone Industries of Pakistan (TIP). These are crucial to the national security and defense, support operation of Armed Forces, etc. This proposal was approved by the committee and recommended to the Cabinet as the final decision-making authority.
Revamping of Power Sector Boards
In another major development, the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) delivered papers to restructure the boards of directors for some of the power sector organizations, namely, Central Power Purchasing Agency Guarantee Ltd. (CPPA-G), Power Planning & Monitoring Company (PPMC), & Power Information Technology Company (PITC). The proposal also contained matters relating to the independent directors, the ex-officio directors, and the chairman of each board. These nominations were approved by the committee to ensure the boards are reconstituted with the aim of improving governance and operations.
WAPDA Classified as an Essential SOE
The Ministry of Water Resources also plans to make the classification for WAPDA a critical state-owned enterprise in the country. And after considerable debate, the committee has arrived at this kind of categorization. This also came with the direction to ensure that other specific governing acts of WAPDA are well harmonized and synchronized with the spirit of the SOEs Act.
Strategic Oversight And Governance And Policy Commitment
At the end of the meeting, particular attention was paid to the strategic management and governance of state-owned enterprises. The CCoSOEs again embraced the task of leading the development of SOEs to become drivers of the country’s development goals. The deliberations of this meeting are anticipated to enhance the governance architecture of and to enhance performance of the major public sector players.
FAQs
Q1. What is the role of CCoSOEs in Pakistan?
A1. It also supervises the categorisation and management of the CCoSOEs in order to increase their effectiveness and impact in driving development.
Q2. How did the NHA get classified as an essential State Owned Enterprise (SOE)?
2. As a more important SOE that has significant responsibilities for executing government policies that have security, social, and economic consequences for society, the NHA was categorized as essential.
Q3. What alterations were made to Pakistan Post Office Department?
A3. The Post Office Department of Pakistan was categorised as Strategic and Essential, hence detailed to fit the strategic goals of the nation.
Q4. What are defense production establishments?
A4. Defense Production Establishments such as PED, HIT, and PAC are the organizations that are involved in manufacturing defense and security equipment for Pakistan Armed Forces.
Q5. Does the reconstitution of Power Sector boards include?
A5. The process involves elective of new independent, ex-officio directors and a chairman to boost the governance and functioning of the organization.