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| August 4, 2005 | Thursday | Jumadi-us-Sani 27, 1426 |
Favourites prosper under ad hoc PCB setup
KARACHI, Aug 3: The ad hoc Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has blatantly ignored merit and transparency in promotions and appointments making the organization top-heavy by rewarding favourites. As a result the monthly wage bill has become five times more than it was under the previous management.
When Shaharyar M Khan took over as chairman, the PCB had five general managers and a director, but today there are as many as nine general managers, one senior general manager, two directors and a consultant with the director’s status, all employed on hefty monthly salaries and perks.
Besides, there are dozens of managers doing hardly any justice to their jobs.
On top of it all, there is an army of foreign experts headed by the “high-profile” coach Bob Woolmer and his handpicked South African and Australian coaches who cost the board millions of rupees in precious foreign exchange.
Five of the staffers, who previously served as managers - Mushtaq Ahmed, Asad Mustafa, Subhan Ahmed, Naveed Iqbal Cheema and Javed Akhtar Khan Manj - were promoted to the rank of general managers by the present chairman.
The others working with the status of general managers are Col Naushad Ali, Nasimul Ghani, Col Mohammad Pervez and Asad Siddiqui, an Internal Auditor with the rank of general manager.
All of them enjoy mouth-watering perks and privileges and among them all director Cricket Operations Saleem Altaf really appears to have hit the jackpot. He enjoyed four months’ “paid holidays” touring India and the West Indies as manager.
Saleem, who joined the board shortly before the Indian tour in March-April, has barely spent time in office. Soon after the West Indies tour, Saleem flew to England to attend ICC meeting along with PCB chief who seems to love globe-trotting under every possible pretext. PCB chief’s latest “holiday” has lasted nearly two months.
Another person who is having a great time is marketing man Zahid Bashir whose services were terminated by Shaharyar only to be re-employed by a court order. He is getting salary and other benefits sitting idle at his home.
Interestingly Subhan is also a general manager marketing of the board.
Zakir Khan, on the other hand, has been elevated to the post of senior general manager Cricket Operations although there is no provision for such a post.
There is also a director of Board Operations – Abbas Zaidi - a former colleague of Shaharyar and draws a cool Rs180,000 each month plus other perks such as fully maintained car, petrol, mobile phone and entertainment allowance.
Initially hired as a consultant only for last year’s home series against India, without any proper procedure, Zaidi became a regular employee. His position was never advertised. The PCB chief created a new post to accommodate his ex-foreign office colleague.
Consultant Mr Riaz Mahmood, reportedly a friend of PCB chief and another expensive choice, was also brought in much the same manner as Zaidi. He has the status of a director receiving Rs7,000 per hour plus other perks.
Recently Riaz Mahmood went to London along with Subhan looking for prospective sponsors for England’s tour to Pakistan scheduled for October-December 2005.
Not to be satisfied with the “unsuccessful” trip of England the duo flew to Dubai in another futile exercise to hook a sponsor there. Again they returned empty-handed costing PCB huge sums of money on the two “joy-rides”.
Ironically Shaharyar, Zaidi, Riaz Mahmood, Saleem Altaf, Col Naushad, Nasimul Ghani, Col Pervez, Naveed Iqbal Cheema and Javed Akhtar Khan Manj are all retired personnel having attained superannuation age at their respective departments.
The PCB literally has money to throw away and there is no accountability whatsoever within the organisation.
Senator Enver Baig had accused Shaharyar of not observing “transparency, financial probity and credibility” in the conduct of most of the PCB affairs.
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