Privatisation of govt entities illegal without CCI approval: Rabbani

Irfan Haider Published July 22, 2014

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stalwart, Senator Raza Rabbani on Tuesday said that the government’s move to privatise the government entities without the Council of Common Interest’s (CCI) approval would be unconstitutional.

Addressing a press conference, he said that the government had already prepared a list of the government entities for privatisation while it has decided to privatise 32 public sector enterprises on priority bases.

Rabbani said these enterprises also under control of provinces after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, adding that the government, however, was taking such decisions without consulting the provincial governments in this regard.

“The federal government and the provinces have fifty per cent shares in government entities under the 18th amendment,” he remarked.

The senior PPP senator said that these public sector organisations were the flagship of the government and it was difficult to understand why the government was involved in privatisation of its strategic assets.

Senator Rabbani said he has written a letter to the chief ministers of all four provinces and vowed that his party will not allow the government to privatise the public sector enterprises at any cost.

“It is our right to protect the rights of provinces,” he added.

Rabbani alleged that the government was taking dictation from the IMF regarding privatisation of the government enterprises, adding that such moves can make thousands of employees jobless.

The PPP senator warned that his party would form a joint front of the opposition parties against the government if it failed to review its policy on the issue.

Earlier, Chairman Privatization Commission, Mohammad Zubair chaired a high level meeting of the board regarding the process of the privatisation of 11 public sector enterprises including PIA, UBL, HBL, ABL, OGDCL, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), FESCO, LESCO, NPCC, Heavy Electric Complex (HEC) and TPS Muzafargarh.

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AsR

Jul 22, 2014 10:25pm

In simple words: PPP will not allow the federal government to lay off thousands of its loyalists which were recruited as a political bribe.

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M. Mushtaq Ahmed

Jul 22, 2014 10:33pm

Privatization is only way to go. Just look at the history of various institutions performance results. Plus these government run institution becomes political vehicle to reward friends and families in total disregard results. Example, just look at PIA counter at New York airport. There are always five or more people behind the counter compared to one or two of other airlines. And, over all other airlines with less staff provides efficient and courteous service compare to PIA. Reason being most of the appointees has political and other relations. Do not like what I said, keep going down the deep dark hole.

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Dr Khan

Jul 22, 2014 10:39pm

The cause of loss of these entities is incompetent staff which was inducted in thousands in PIA and other institutions without any merit and rampant corruption which they have started .All govt entities should be bound to induct employees through public service commission from grade1 onwards.

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Zain

Jul 22, 2014 10:40pm

5% shares of PPL were off-loaded but the GoP remains the largest shareholder. 10% of publicly held shares in OGDCL are being off-loaded. Similarly, PIA will remain in majority public shareholding with a 26% share being off-loaded. Terming these 'privatization' for the sake of sensationalism and politicking is wrong.

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Ali Pakistani

Jul 22, 2014 10:49pm

The PML-N led Government was not given a mandate to sell off the family silver. Privatization is not as simple a matter as the government makes it to be. Selling off large public sector entities to the cooperate sector is a serious matter. The government policies will then be dependent on private interests of several individuals and the common man will suffer. The Prime Minister in one of his earliest speeches in the parliament had promised to bring in competent people to run these organizations and that is all that is needed at this point.

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Itsqashi

Jul 23, 2014 12:11am

Thats the only way out to improve the performance of these organizations. If PMLN able to privatize these organization its a very good step forward.

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irfan

Jul 23, 2014 12:40am

The PPP like no other party got its cadres jobs in PIA, SSGC, KESC and it is time every single government entity suffering loss should be privatized. India is even privatizing its arms and ammunition industry.

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Naeem Syed

Jul 23, 2014 02:06am

@M. Mushtaq Ahmed You said New York Counter. My wife and I were travelling Business class and went to the check in Counter the gentleman there started the check in process when he saw a family he knew standing in the Economy line, he called to them to come over here and he told us to move to the next counter which was economy Counter and proceeded to Check them in and gave them four seats in the Business class. I complained to the Station Manager who was standing there, who apologized and said that when you have people with Political connections this is how they behave nothing I can do about it. It turned out that the upgraded passenger was a staff member.

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AJamal

Jul 23, 2014 03:37am

If provinces own 50%, they should be equally funding PIA, Pak Steel losses.

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AJamal

Jul 23, 2014 03:58am

Mr Raza Rabbani knows very well that Bhutto destroyed the industrial base by privatisation in the 70s. Later these entities were used to illegally employ party workers.

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syed

Jul 23, 2014 04:47am

The looters should be stopped from plundering the country

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Mohammed A. Sukhera-USA

Jul 23, 2014 08:10am

@M. Mushtaq Ahmed.I could not agree with you more. It was in the 1980s under the leaderships of Margaret Thatcher in the UK and Ronald Reagan in the USA, that privatization gained worldwide momentum. British Airways was privatized in 1983 which transformed the loss-making giant into one of the most profitable air carriers in the world. Soviet Union and China have learned the hard way that publicly owned economies don't work. In 1988, the Perestroika policy of Mikhail Gorbachev started allowing private enterprise in the previous centrally-planned economy of the Soviet Union which resulted in a massive privatization of the Soviet economy over the next few years. All Eastern Bloc countries followed suit and got out of the economic mess they had created Pakistan has been on a downhill slide for many decades due to the millions of dollars losses in the public enterprises year after year. Pakistan can't pay its obligations without the bailout of billions of dollar loans from the IMF. This system of government owned enterprises breeds

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Sacho

Jul 23, 2014 08:45am

Hbl is already privatized

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Mohammed A. Sukhera

Jul 24, 2014 10:59am

@Dr Khan> In our country the former president/prime minister were openly involved in corruption of billions of dollars through kick back schemes/commissions and they are enjoying ill gotten money roaming around the world. They have not been convicted by our system even if they are out of office.Public Service commission is not above corruption. Useful anti corruption procedures include those that focus on recruitment, training, and active management of staff integrity, as well as ensuring the highest ethical standards by agency leadership. Now where we going to find the high integrity and highest ethical people when the system is full of corrupt people from top to the bottom. The simple and easiest way to route out corruption is privatization of public sector industries like PIA, Pakistan Railway, Pakistan steel mill , Pakistan electric and Pakistan Agriculture and storage corporation. Our government does not have the funds to pay its bills and relies on IMF for bailout. In order to receive additional loans from IMF, the government has to meet their condition which is Privatization of money losing enterprises.

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