ISLAMABAD: The stakeholders of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) have asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to immediately appoint a professional management team to revive the mill closed for more than three years and stop Rs5 million per hour financial bleeding.

In a letter to the prime minister, the stakeholders group of PSM employees, pensioners, suppliers, dealers and contractors has accused the previous PML-N government of criminal negligence for the closure of the mill in June 2015. They said the total losses and liabilities of the mill had gone beyond Rs465 billion, besides about $2.5bn foreign exchange loss per annum to the country because of steel imports which should have been produced at the PSM.

“Once a symbol of excellence and pride for the nation, PSM is completely dysfunctional since June 10, 2015 due to the inept and unprofessional polices of the last government,” wrote convener of the PSM Stakeholders Group (PSG) Mumrez Khan to the prime minister.

As a result, not only the employees, retired as well serving, have fallen victims, but the suppliers, dealers and all those having a stake in the successful operation of the mill continue to suffer immensely.

Unchecked corruption, inefficiency, over-employment blamed for disaster

The group has put up a claim of Rs70bn on the mill and has offered to turn around the organisation by reviving its existing plant and expand its capacity three times to three million tonnes to stop its further bleeding, reduce foreign exchange loss and help support the domestic industry and economy.

It said the group had presented ‘workable proposals’ in this regard between September 2017 and August 2018, but were not responded to by the federal government. The demands were also not heeded to for transparent accountability and process and appointment of professional management with injection of funds required for the mill’s revival.

The letter said the PSM reached the current situation “due to unchecked corruption, inefficiencies, over-employment and lukewarm attitude of the governments to its revival” as reported in a summary to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet that sought Rs28bn package for its revival in August 2013 but was rejected by then finance minister Ishaq Dar.

The PSG said Mr Dar, while rejecting the summary, had called for a “workable proposal” which never came about in those five years but cost Rs265bn to the national exchequer from June 2013 to August 2018.

The group demanded investigation as to what benefits accrued to the country and PSM because of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani sacking a former chairman, the suo motu notice taken by then chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry when the losses of the mill stood at Rs28bn and what was the status and outcome of investigations by the National Accountability Bureau.

It said the Supreme Court had ordered completion of investigation in three months that could not be completed in more than six years.

It said now that total debt and losses of the mill had touched Rs465bn as of Aug 30, 2018, its performance audit was also desired. It said there was no management structure at the PSM at present and the posts of its chief executive officer and eight directors and 24 general managers were vacant.

The PSG said that financial bleeding of the PSM could be stopped by appointing a professional management with the consultation of former federal secretaries Dr Akram Shaikh and retired Lt Gen Sabeeh Qamaruzaman who successful managed the country’s once largest industrial unit.

“Revival of PSM is one of the many challenges warranting immediate attention of the PTI government,” said Mumrez Khan, who welcomed a statement by Finance Minister Asad Umar that privatisation of PSM proposed by the PML-N was not the solution but a professional management team to turn around the mill for long-term benefits of job creation and economic activity.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2018