PESHAWAR: Major violations of rules have been detected in the recruitment process of 112 employees in the state-owned Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil and Gas Company (OGCL).

According to the findings of a probe committee for energy and power, anomalies have been detected in recruitment of the 78 per cent of total staff currently serving in the oil and gas company.

The probe committee says that minor violations have also been observed in the recruitment process of nine other employees.

The panel has declared the appointment process of 22 employees of OGCL according to the rules.

The energy and power department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had constituted the inquiry panel consisting of three senior officials on the recommendations of the account committee of the department to probe anomalies in the recruitment process of the employees.

Acting chief says he has not received report of probe panel

“It has been noted by the committee that codal formalities including requisite approvals for constitution of recruitment committee and short listing committee is not available on record,” says the panel in its findings.

Similarly, the approval of the competent authority for final selection has not been found by the probe committee on record in all the recruitments made before 2020.

“The evaluation/rating system of interview was not satisfactory and approved criteria/parameter adopted for short-listing are also not available on record,” says the report of the inquiry committee.

The panel has detected violations of rule in the recruitment of deputy general manager security and administration, manager geophysics, executive admin and scores of junior executive admin, chief human resource, senior executive human resources, executive human resource, scores of junior executive human resource, deputy chief finance, senior executive corporate finance, corporate affairs and taxation, two executive finance and couple of junior executive finance.

It has also detected major violations of rules in the recruitment process of internal audit chief, executive internal audit, several junior executive internal audit, senior executive IT, executive IT, junior executive IT, geologist PDC/seismic interpretation and couple of junior geophysicists/seismic interpretation, geologist prospect generation and several

junior geologist prospect generation and several junior geologist G&G seismic acquisition.

The committee has also found violation of rules in the recruitment of chief field geology/joint venture, scores of junior geologist FG/JV, engineer engineering service and junior engineers engineering service, assistant engineers engineering service, junior engineers, petroleum engineer and junior petroleum engineers, deputy chief supply chain management, geologist drilling and many more.

During the probe, the committee was informed that the posts were advertised by OGCL in the national newspapers including Daily Dawn, Daily Mashriq, Daily Ummat and The Nation. The committee forwarded the copies of the advertisements to the office of directorate general of information and public relations KP for verification.

However, in response, the DG information and public relations informed the committee that the advertisements had not been routed through his office and advised the energy and power to approach KP Archives Library to check the record of the mentioned newspapers.

The report states that the Archives Library responded vide letter No SOG/HE/Misc/2022 dated 29-9-2022 and informed the committee that some of the advertisements were not found in its record among the newspapers claimed by OGCL wherein the advertisements were floated.

The report has also mentioned other irregularities committed in the recruitment of 112 employees.

It says that contract letters were issued to several employees one day before the issuance of offer letter. It adds that other irregularities include considering irrelevant qualification, appointment without advertisement and selection of candidates, who lack the required experience, etc.

The acting chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, Nasir Khan, said that the inquiry report was presented in the meeting of the OGCL’s board of directors held on Friday in Islamabad.

“I don’t know about the findings of the probe conducted regarding the recruitment of employees in OGCL. I am waiting to receive the report officially,” he added.

He said that he would proceed accordingly as per directions to be issued by the board of directors in light of the probe.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2022