Obstacles in the way of appointment of board members of Universal Service Fund (USF), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, have been removed as the federal government has approved the Universal Service Fund Amendment Rules 2023.
After the approval of the rules, three independent members will be able to join the USF board.
According to the amended rules, a legal expert, a financial expert, and a telecom/information communication technology expert will join the board of the Universal Service Fund. A women member will also be included in Universal Service Board.
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) had proposed amendments to the Universal Service Board Rules for compliance with the SECP.
The rules were sent to the federal cabinet after approval from the Law and Justice Division and the Finance Division. Under the SECP Companies Act, the board must have one-third independent members and one woman member. The SECP had also written to the IT ministry for compliance.
Under amended USF rules 2023, Universal Service Fund consists of four ex-officio members including Secretary MoITT, Member Telecom MoITT, Chairman PTA, and CEO USF. The board consists of five members from the private sector two from industry and three independent members. The industry members include nominees of fixed-line licensees and mobile cellular licensees. Three independent members include a legal expert, a financial expert, and Telecom or information & communication technology expert.
According to MoITT, three ex officio members of the USF board are already present and Chairman PTA’s appointment process is under process. After the approval of USF amendment rules 2023, the appointment process of five private members including 2 from industry and 3 independent members will be started soon.
The MoITT will propose the remaining board members. After approval of the federal government, the board of universal service fund will be completed. After the appointment of independent directors board of USF will work more effectively.
