ISLAMABAD: Officials of the Civil Aviation Authority have invited the Supreme Court’s attention to a government decision of outsourcing different airports and curtailing important branches of the CAA.

In an application submitted to the court, the secretary general of the Union of Civil Aviation Employees, Lahore, Mohammad Ayaz Butt, alleged that the government had never made public the report on privatisation of different airports fearing strong opposition by the then defence secretary and the Pakistan Air Force in view of the fact that the privatisation/outsourcing of the airports would be a security risk.

But due to strong opposition by the then defence ministry the privatisation/outsourcing process remained suspended, the letter said, adding that soon after the change in the ministry the same interest group had secretly started the process of privatisation to get the most profitable airports of the country.

The application stated that the CAA was established in 1982 and though previously the authority, along with the PIA, Airport Security Force (ASF) and Meteorological department, was under the defence ministry, the present government through a notification in the Rules of Business, 2013, created a separate aviation division under the cabinet by putting the CAA, ASF, PIA and Met department under the control this division.

The letter highlighted that the CAA was one of the richest departments and last year it earned Rs70 billion and soon after the operation of the new Islamabad airport, it was expected that the revenue might be increased to Rs100bn per year.

Employees union says privatisation of airports will be a security risk

However, it said, this time they had named the privatisation as outsourcing of airports so that no objection could be raised from any quarter.

All the process was kept secret and the employees were never taken into confidence and a Lahore-based legal firm was engaged to deal with cases and other legal matters with the CAA by awarding a contract worth Rs49.9 million. Later, the contract was extended and more tasks were given to this firm without following codal formalities, the petition alleged.

Till date the CAA had reportedly paid more than Rs140m without any benefit to the authority, the letter alleged.

To achieve the purpose, a company was also got registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan with alleged fake fabricated information, the letter alleged, adding that without adopting mandatory procedure three blue-eyed officers were also nominated as directors of the company with 33 to 34 per cent shares of the company.

Interestingly, without holding compulsory board of directors meeting, the CEO of the company was elected showing the three directors as self-employed, though all of them were regular officers of the CAA, the petition alleged.

Published in Dawn, Aprill 10th, 2018

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