Peshawar BRT company starts falling like a house of cards-Gov asks Exec to reconsider resign

[Devil Soul]

Peshawar BRT company starts falling like a house of cards

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PESHAWAR: Just 15 days to the final May 20 deadline of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to inaugurate the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the main company assigned to operate the system started falling like a house of cards as chairman of its Board of Directors (BoD) and two other important officers of the company have quit apparently in protest against the removal of the chief executive officer (CEO).

The step by the officers leaving the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Urban Mobility Authority (KPUMA) and its subsidiary, TransPeshawar Company (TPC), assigned to maintain and operate the BRT system in the provincial metropolis, has definitely shattered Chief Minister Pervez Khattak’s plans to launch the BRT on May 20 or at least before the expiry of his tenure that ends on May 28.

The provincial government removed the CEO of the TransPeshawar, Altaf Akbar Durrani, on May 2 after he refused to procure busses for the BRT as per schedule desired by the chief minister, and that too at a time when the corridor of the project has not been completed.

His removal was approved by the provincial cabinet at its meeting on April 19, after the chief minister informed it about the impediments in the completion of his government’s lone mega project as per its timelines.

Chairman of the TransPeshawar BoD, Javed Iqbal, who according to the sources, had already conveyed to the sacked CEO that he would also resign if the government went with its plan to remove him (CEO), tendered his resignation the next day (May 3).

Similarly, following in the footprints of the BoD chairman, two key officers, Chief Finance Officer Safdar Sher Awan and General Manager Operations and Market Development Mohammad Imran Khan tendered their resignations in protest against the CEO’s ouster.

The removal of the CEO and subsequent resignations of the chairman BoD, CFO and GM Operations left the Company without its top management that would not only delay procurement of the buses, but also hamper timely completion of some other formalities of the project.

The provincial government wanted to inaugurate the BRT on May 20, for which it sought immediate procurement of the buses.

However, the ousted CEO informed the chief minister about the legal and manufacturing formalities and testing process of the prototype before mass production of the buses that would have to take about a month. This frustrated the chief minister who perused his cabinet to approve removal of the CEO.

In the meanwhile, the provincial government continued with its plan to launch the BRT during the last 20 days of its tenure and adopted another way to arrange buses for the project.

As referred to by the BoD chairman in a rejoinder to one-line resignation, the provincial government intended to acquire the Pink Buses Project to the TransPeshawar.

Transport and Mass Transit Department in consultation with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and UN Women has developed a proposal for provision of women specific bus services on pilot basis in Mardan and Abbottabad districts.

Japan committed to providing 14 women buses, which would be operated by the TransPeshawar, initially at Peshawar as stopgap arrangement and later on arrival of BRT buses, these will be operated in Mardan and Abbottabad.

Javed Iqbal, in a rejoinder to his resignation addressed to the secretary Transport and Mass Transit Department Kamran Reham, has pointed out that no such project could be assigned to the TransPeshawar.

He has said that any such forced assignment is not only against the express provisions of the law, but it will also place an unsustainable financial and manpower burden on TransPeshawar and runs the risk of jeopardising operations of the Peshawar BRT.

Meanwhile, ex-CEO TransPeshawar, Altaf Akbar Durrani, in a purported letter to the Transport Department, rejected the government’s assertion that he was removed for delay in import of buses.

He said that over the last several months, the chief minister has been insisting on completion of the project by April 20 and later on he changed the date to May 20.

He categorically stated that based on the requirements of the Asian Development Bank’s procurement procedures and the achieved pace of the civil infrastructure work, both the dates were unrealistic and unjustified.

“As such, my removal from the post of CEO was unfair and unjustified and nothing but a case of witch-hunting and ‘scapegoating,” he reportedly writes.

“In the TransPeshawar operational model, buses are being supplied by the owner while the operation of the buses will be contracted out to a private vehicle operating company (VOC). To add to the complications, our buses are equipped with diesel electric hybrid technology, which is a completely new and untested technology in Pakistani environment. Due to these reasons, it is very important to ensure the quality of the buses by implementing all the quality control mechanisms included in the contract and the consultant should not be pressured to provide approvals without ensuring full compliance. Otherwise, if the quality is compromised and there are issues with the performance of the buses, the VOC may not be able to meet their KPIs (key performance indicators), which can lead to a premature failure of the bus operations. The financial, political and social consequences of such a failure will be catastrophic,” he further writes.

Altaf in his letter informed that at the April 19 meeting, he along with bus consultant and supplier put the chief minister in the picture through a big-binder of over 80 pages listing the testing and compliances and the availability of the prototype units for testing from April 22 to 28 and he was informed that by the schedule, the delivery of the first batch of buses in May would be highly unlikely.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/313228-brt-company-starts-falling-like-a-house-of-cards

 

[BATMAN]

Not related to Peshawar, but i heard Karachi metro is being built by federal govt.! why?
After all the metro was most criticized by thugs of PPP and why fedral govt. is helping the very same thugs, but not Punjab and NWFP?

 

[Kambojaric]

Not related to Peshawar, but i heard Karachi metro is being built by federal govt.! why?
After all the metro was most criticized by thugs of PPP and why fedral govt. is helping the very same thugs, but not Punjab and NWFP?

Because then PPP, ANP and MQM will do the only thing that they know how to do i.e blame Punjab for the state of Karachi. Their level of incompetence is mindblowing and I am saying this as a person who doesn't support any political party (although I'm biased towards PTI).

 

[somebozo]

Because then PPP, ANP and MQM will do the only thing that they know how to do i.e blame Punjab for the state of Karachi. Their level of incompetence is mindblowing and I am saying this as a person who doesn't support any political party (although I'm biased towards PTI).

How come these parties remain competent enough to contest election? Why ECP has no rules for transparency, ethics and competency? We have heard it enough that PPP, ANP, MQM are destroying Karachi..however these parties remain elected and in power..Where is ECP? Where are the courts?

 

[BATMAN]

How come these parties remain competent enough to contest election? Why ECP has no rules for transparency, ethics and competency? We have heard it enough that PPP, ANP, MQM are destroying Karachi..however these parties remain elected and in power..Where is ECP? Where are the courts?

Crimes /corruption of the said parties is very fresh and done within Pakistan.
There crimes are far above than holding UAE work permit and buying flats in UK.
I suppose surrey palace is far bigger than London flats and Zardari have always denied its ownership.
I know for fact.. how Yousaf Reza Gilani and his sister used to do corruption in every construction contract in Pakistan and on ground nothing was delivered, other than famine next door in thar.

 

[RoadRunner401]

The above comedy is written by 2nd grade failed, it has no leg, no arm and no head, it goes all over the place without making any sense

 

[xyxmt]

How is it falling like a house of cards, the CEO was fired for not doing his job and soon they will hire his replacement, yeah it might get delayed for few months not fall

 

[Kabira]

Khattak need to chill, BRT isn't getting completed before election like claimed. Better to delay it then to f it up for ever.

 

[Sugarcane]

Looks like poor planning and execution. If the CEO was supposed to deliver as per Project plan then he is rightly sacked otherwise it's simple scapegoat. In any case ultimate responsibility is on shoulders of Chief Minister for not monitoring the progress of mega project to get it done on time .

 

[!eon]

Cm took so looooong just to know CEO is not working

 

[Devil Soul]

BRT in trouble: K-P urges TransPeshawar executives to reconsider resignations
By Sohail Khattak
Published: May 7, 2018
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Officials say govt officials have met with the executives to woo them . PHOTO: FILE

PESHAWAR: After two top executives of a transport company — charged with operating the buses in the metro project — resigned, the government held a huddle to convince them to return to their posts.

The chairman of the board, the chief financial officer (CFO) and the general manager of operations and market development (GMO) of the TransPeshawar had resigned on May 3, a day after the provincial government fired the chief executive of the company, Altaf Durrani, for delays in the delivery of buses for the metro project, procuring an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) and hiring a vehicles operating company.

Sources said that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government has been requesting the two executives of the TransPeshawar—the urban mobility company of K-P government meant to operate the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project —to withdraw their resignations, trying to convince them that their presence in the department was indispensable for the successful completion and operation of the project. But more importantly, that their absence was likely to delay the project for months.




Well-placed sources said that Peshawar Division Commissioner Shahab Ali Shah and officials from the Strategic Support Unit (SSU) at the Chief Minister House have held meetings with both the TransPeshawar CFO Safdar Shabir Awan and GMO Imran Khan on Saturday, requesting them to take back their resignations.

Sources added that during the parleys, the two executives were explained that their decision to quit at this critical juncture could jeopardise the project and promises of the government to complete it in time. They were subsequently requested to withdraw their resignations.

The two executives apparently said that they had resigned out of fear that any incoming chairman of the board would force them to do what Durrani resisted during his tenure. Thus, rather than going to jail by taking a wrong step, the two had decided that it was better to sit at home.

To further persuade the two executives of resuming their work, the Peshawar Development Authority Director General reportedly then invited them to dinner on Sunday.

Sources suggested that the government is keen on keeping Imran in his position owing to the experience he has in this field.

CFO issue

While the GMO may be coveted by the government for his expertise, keeping the CFO is a requirement from the funding partners of the project — the Asian Development Bank (ADB). As per section-7 of schedule-3 of the loan agreement signed between the ADB and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government, no withdrawals shall be made from the loan account to pay for TransPeshawar’s operating costs and goods until TransPeshawar has a qualified and experienced CFO acceptable to the ADB.

And with a hiring freeze imposed by the Election Commission of Pakistan across the country, the K-P government will be locked out of hiring a replacement, effectively putting the project on hold until the ban is lifted.

An official of TransPeshawar told The Express Tribune that they expect Reach-3 (BRT section between Aman Chowk and Hayatabad) to be ready by October while the other two portions will take longer to complete.

“All the deadlines for the project were unrealistic. A six month period to build such a mega project is insufficient despite ideal conditions in which there will no hurdles and the construction work is carried out around the clock,” the official stated matter-of-factly, adding that the failure to deliver the bus fleet by April 20 would make no difference on the project.

He explained that it would take six to eight months for the government to build a depot to park these buses, and by that time, if the buses were delivered on the proposed deadline, the body of the vehicles would have rotted by then.

Transparent hiring

Meanwhile, the K-P government issued a statement from the office of the transport department secretary on Sunday which stated that the resignations of CFO and the GMO were their personal decisions and will not, in any way, hinder the timely completion of the project.

“Teams always come and go. The hiring was done earlier, transparently, on merit following ADB procedures, and a similar process will be adopted for new hiring’s.” the transport secretary added.



Published in The Express Tribune, May 7th, 2018.