THIS refers to the editorial ‘PIA uncer-tainty’ (Nov 20). It is worth mentioning that the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has become a veritable albatross around the neck of the national economy, draining approximately Rs112 billion annually, as per the August 2023 statement of the national carrier’s chief executive officer (CEO).

The last bidding round for sale of 60 per cent stake of PIA to private bidders elicited an embarrassingly tepid response from international and national investors, with a real estate developer turning up with an amazingly parsimonious bid of Rs10 billion.

It later transpired, however, that the previous caretaker government had left a negative equity of Rs45 billion on PIA’s balance sheet, which actually dissuaded potential investors from offering a muni-ficent bid.

Things, however, are not so simple. It is not only negative equity, but a whole ecosystem of inefficiency and overstaffing that has laid PIA low. The investors looking for stakes in PIA obviously want a secure business environment along with a credible dispute resolution mechanism in place and a transparent regulatory environment.

The selling of unprofitable state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is an attractive proposition, but only if the SOEs fetch an attractive price and are offered to credible investors having the capacity to run these entities efficiently and profitably.

According to independent economists, the panacea for bleeding SOEs is not their pell-mell selling to the carpetbaggers, but to run them efficiently through competent professional management appointed on merit.

It is only after these SOEs become solvent that their privatisation would garner optimum dividends. We should pay heed to the advice of such experts whose words have a lot of merit. PIA needs to be privatised, but, before the next round, certain reforms are required, which only a professional management can accomplish.

PIA’s pre-privatisation phase requires deft and professional handling where civilian professionals with aviation man-

agement experience, preferably from among the best available local talent, should be appointed to the top management positions after completion of the tenure of the incumbent CEO.

Moreover, the new management, with a transitional mandate, should then carry out a ruthless efficiency and performance audit to pare down the flab and streamline procedures in sync with best international practices.

It is only after thorough pre-transition preparation and due reforms that PIA should be put up for privatisation. The above measures are imperative in order to prevent the national humiliation faced in the wake of the last round of bidding.

Brig (retd) Dr Raashid Wali Janjua
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2024