October 04, 2006	Wednesday	Ramazan 10, 1427

ISLAMABAD, Oct 3: The government has backed out of its assurance to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce (NASCC) in appointing a chief executive officer of the newly-proposed Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) on merit.

Well-placed sources told Dawn on Tuesday that the government in principal appointed current Export Promotion Bureau Chairman Tariq Ikram as new CEO of the authority in violation of the rules and merit. The EPB would be replaced by the TDAP.

The committee had asked the commerce ministry that the new CEO of the TDAP should be selected through a prescribed mechanism of test and interviews to be properly advertised in the newspapers. Mr Ikram has been heading the office of the EPB for the last six years uninterrupted.

“No body can oppose the appointment of the EPB chairman against the new slot even the commerce ministry. He has good connections in the president secretariat,” an official on condition of anonymity told Dawn.

The sources said the prime minister also approved the board of the proposed authority that would include 10 members from the private sector. While the government and chambers of commerce and industry officials would be its ex-officio members. The total strength of the board would arrive at 27 members.

According to these sources, the proposed TDAP was likely to be established through a presidential ordinance after stiff opposition from the parliamentarians over some clauses of the authority. The ordinance is expected to be issued any time. Although the ministry had given an assurance to the NASCC that the proposed authority would be established through an act of parliament.

The commerce ministry in a written reply to a question of the committee agreed that the draft act is being prepared for submission to the National Assembly. The CEO and personnel for other posts of the TDAP will be recruited on open merit.

The sources said the commerce ministry had recently sent a delegation of parliamentarians, including members of the NASCC, to Geneva, Switzerland, for attending a conference in a bid to oblige them to avoid criticism on the ministry activities.

“Now, how could you expect from these members to criticise the ministry decisions even if these were against the national interest and violation of rules and regulations,” added the sources.

The government had already constituted a Federal Export Promotion Board (FEPB) under the chairmanship of the prime minister. All relevant ministries were represented on the board. The Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet is the second forum for a holistic policy approach. Coordinating exportable surplus is the function of the ministries of industries, textile and agriculture. The TDAP will undermine the function of these ministries.