The Central Monitoring Unit (CMU) has highlighted issues with the high number of non-professional and non-independent members on the boards of state owned enterprises (SOEs). This imbalance especially in crucial sectors like power and infrastructure has resulted in unchecked management influence and poor decision making.

The CMU recommends that at least 50% of board members be independent to improve governance. This would help enhance strategic oversight, ensure better risk management and align the goals of SOEs with long-term public and investor interests.

CMU Calls for Better Monitoring in SOEs

The Central Monitoring Unit (CMU) has raised a concern about how state owned enterprises (SOEs) in Pakistan lack effective systems for tracking and evaluating board performance. Boards often lose focus on long term planning without clear goals and performance metrics. This makes it harder for these organizations to grow and reach their full potential.

On top of that, the absence of regular reviews means boards may miss important compliance issues that can lead to poor decision making. This lack of oversight affects critical sectors like power, infrastructure and gas that ultimately impacts the economy and public trust in these enterprises.

To fix this, CMU suggests creating a clear standardized way to assess how well boards are doing with specific performance indicators for each sector. Regular assessments would help ensure that SOEs stay focused on their long term goals, improve accountability and manage resources more effectively ultimately strengthening governance and improving overall performance.

CMU Calls for a Centralized Database to Improve SOE Board Appointments

The Central Monitoring Unit (CMU) has raised an important concern about the lack of a central database for potential board members in Pakistan’s state owned enterprises (SOEs). Appointing qualified directors becomes a slow process without such a resource, often leading to delays and subpar selections.

This absence of a well-organized system makes it harder to ensure that the right people with the right expertise are chosen to lead.

To solve this problem, the CMU is calling for the creation of a centralized database that would include a diverse pool of qualified professionals from fields like finance, law, engineering and more.

This would help ensure that SOEs have skilled and experienced leaders in place bringing in fresh perspectives and strong governance. The CMU believes that SOEs can better meet their goals and operate more effectively by having a comprehensive and accessible resource supporting leadership that truly understands the challenges they face.