November 06, 2007	Tuesday	Shawwal 24, 1428

LAHORE, Nov 5: After implementation of the new Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) constitution, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the board are likely to be changed.

According to the new constitution, which was approved after a long period of eight years, ending a much-criticised ad hoc period, the newly formed governing board has been given the authority to appoint the COO and CFO.

Earlier, the PCB chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf, as head of the ad hoc body, had appointed Shafqat Naghmi as COO and Hasan Ahmad as CFO, in April this year.

However, in the clause 6, related to COO and clause 7 to CFO, of the new constitution, the two seats will be assigned by the new governing board, comprising 15 members.

Clause 6 says: “For effective performance of his functions, the chairman shall be assisted by the COO, who shall be appointed by the governing board on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the governing board.” Similarly, clause 7 says: “The CFO of the PCB shall be appointed by the Governing Board on such terms and conditions as the governing board may determine.”

The newly formed governing board will meet for the first time in Lahore on Nov 9, as the PCB Patron-in-chief President General Pervez Musharraf had already approved the names of six technocrats and two former Test cricketers as its members. The technocrats are Ali Raza, Moeen Afzal, Munir Hafeez, Aslam Sanjrani, Farooq Rehmatullah and Ijaz Yousuf while the two Test cricketers are Intikhab Alam and Ijaz Butt.

The names of four, out of the total five, representatives of the regional cricket associations and one of department have also been decided.

The remaining regional representative is still to be decided as there is a tie between Lahore and Sialkot. President of the Lahore Region Aamir Hayat Khan Rokri is willing to become the member of the board but in his way Naeem Gulzar, President of the Sialkot Region is a strong candidate.

The PCB has advised the regions to finalise the names from Lahore or Sialkot till Nov 8, one day before the inaugural meeting of the governing board, so that all the members could attend it.

Shakil Sheikh (Islamabad), Wasal Durrani (Peshawar), Mian Munir (Multan) and Dr Mohammad Ali Shah (Karachi) had become the members of the governing board whereas Abdul Raquib (HBL) will represent all the departments.

The governing board looks powerful since it has to approve the annual report containing balance sheet, income and expenditure accounts, cash flow statements. It also has to approve and implement the operations manual of the board.

Chairman PCB will head the governing board.

Moreover, the constitution also allows the chairman to run the office for two tenures, after completing the first one.

According to clause 5 which is related to chairman: “The patron (president of Pakistan) shall appoint a person of high repute and integrity with management experience as the chairman for a period of three years, who shall be eligible for reappointment for one further consecutive term of three years.”

The chairman is allowed to appoint an acting chairman in case of his absence from the country for more than one month.

The general body is another important part of the PCB. It will consist of chairman PCB, CFO, COO, co-opted members, one representative each from all the districts, regional, department affiliated with the PCB and of women, blind, deaf and veterans recognised by the PCB.

The general body will meet once in a year. In case of an emergency, the chairman is eligible to convene the general body meeting at any time.