TIP board approves Rs45mln as operational budget

ISLAMABAD: Anusha Rehman, minister of state for information technology and telecom, on Friday said the affairs of Telephone Industries of Pakistan (TIP) have been streamlined with the strenuous efforts of the government and the company’s board of directors (BoDs). 

“The incumbent management was able to save Rs107 million within one year on the single account of utility bills,” she said while chairing TIP’s 191st BoDs meeting that also approved Rs45 million as operational budget of the company for the next year. 

“Similar improvements on cutting losses in other areas have yielded significant savings.” 

After learning that some vested interests were creating hurdles in implementation of board’s decisions, the minister categorically stated that any violation and noncompliance to official decisions will not be tolerated. “All such mafias will be dealt with severely in accordance with the law,” Ms Rehman said warning the law-breakers. 

Briefing the meeting, the TIP managing director said official accommodations had been evicted from the illegal occupants and the management was also taking legal action against the delinquents. 

“We are taking all corrective measures to put Telephone Industries of Pakistan administrative affairs in order but unfortunately certain elements are obstructing the legal procedure,” the managing director said.         

The Telephone Industries of Pakistan official also assured the meeting that the decisions of the board would be enforced at any cost.

The meeting also agreed that ministry of information technology would ensure strict implementation of all decisions made by board in true letter and spirit. 

In December 2016, Syed Mohammad Hussain Shah, chairman TIP, Haripur, was arrested by National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, for his alleged involvement in illegal allotment of plots in TIP Housing Scheme and dealing a loss of Rs360 million to the national exchequer. 

According to NAB, the TIP Cooperative Housing Society was constructed on around 1,025 kanals under an approved master plan with 560 kanals reserved for residential area and area and 406 kanals for amenities.

Shah was accused of changing the master plan without authorization, converting the amenity sites into residential plots, and issuing 145 allotment letters in the housing scheme. 

Later in January 2017, the NAB booked another five officials of TIP, Haripur, for allegedly being involved in housing scam.

The NAB claimed that all plots at the housing scheme were allotted to TIP employees from 1991 to 2001 through power of attorney awarded to chairman TIP housing scheme. 

It must be noted that earlier this year Privatization Commission had included the loss-making TIP into the privatisation list with an unknown deadline.

The PC board in its meeting held on July 11, 2016 had approved to initiate the privatisation of TIP, subject to provision of TIP accounts till June 2015.

However, the same are still awaited and the privatisation process is yet to be initiated for this reason. The deadline for accomplishing this transaction is still unknown. 

The TIP BoD meeting was attended by Rizwan Bashir Khan, IT federal secretary, Syed Khalid Gardezi, MD Telephone Industries of Pakistan, Mudassar Hussain, member telecom, Ameena Sohail, member legal, Tahir Mushtaq, member HR, and other board members.