The Privatisation and Corporatisation Board (PCB) has made changes to its policies to ensure the competence of government-representing directors appointed to government-owned companies.
In a circular, the PCB said amendments have been made to further strengthen the policies for the appointment and dismissal of government representatives to companies under the Companies Act. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure that the persons appointed to the companies are most suitable and qualified to fulfil the role, PCB said.
The main amendment to the policy is the introduction of mandatory requirements for educational background and professional experience. As per the revised policies, the representative should hold a Level 7 certificate under the National Qualifications Framework and have at least five years of experience in a relevant field. If neither of these requirements are met, their experience will be assessed instead. In such cases, they must have a minimum of seven years of experience in operating and managing businesses.
While current policies assess candidates on their ability to contribute to the company’s long and short-term planning, development, and policy formation, the candidate is required to score at least 60 per cent marks in the interview conducted by the PCB. The new amendment has merged these two parts into a more comprehensive interview process, assessing a candidate’s overall capacity to contribute to the development of the company’s business and planning and shaping the company’s initiatives in a strategic direction.
The government has been making significant changes to policies to improve the governance of state-owned enterprises. Steps are being taken to liquidate some of these companies and to reform unprofitable companies to enhance their performance and financial sustainability.