In order to ensure transparency in the disinvestment process, Finance Ministry has decided to appoint retired bureaucrats and prominent private sector executives as independent monitors to oversee working of merchant bankers and others associated with PSU stake sale.
The Ministry will hire Independent External Monitors (IEMs) in the Department of Disinvestment (DoD) in consultation with Central Vigilance Commission, for this purpose.
“IEMs shall monitor the bidding process and also monitor the execution of contract by bidders/appointed parties and review objectively and independently whether and to what extent the parties comply with the obligations under the integrity pact,” the DoD said while inviting applications.
The IEMs could be those former officers of government and PSUs who have retired from top management positions and also eminent persons and executives from the private sector.
The names of the IEMs will be sighted in the integrity pact to be signed between the department and intermediaries appointed, like merchant bankers and legal advisors, for every public issue, the DoD added.
The recommendations of IEMs would be advisory and not legally binding.
“However, their role is independent in nature and the advice once tendered would not be subject to review at the request of the department,” it said.
Initial tenure of the IEMs would be three years and could be extended for another two years.
The integrity pact, as per CVC, essentially envisages an agreement between the prospective vendors/bidders and the buyer not to indulge in any corrupt practices during the contract period.
The CVC has emphasised the necessity to adopt Integrity Pact in government organisations. The Commission had also directed that in order to oversee the compliance of obligations under the Pact, by the parties concerned, Independent External Monitors (IEMs) should be nominated with its approval.
