THE Public Service Commission has confirmed that Shaheen Ali’s 14-year stretch as a permanent secretary, primarily within the Ministry of Trade, Co-operatives, MSMEs, and Communications, has come to an end.
PSC chair Luke Rokovada said Mr Ali had not been offered a new contract following a competitive recruitment process for the position.
“It’s true that Mr Shaheen Ali has not been offered a new contract,” Rokovada said.
“There were other suitable candidates who applied for the position, and one of them has been appointed.”
Rokovada noted that Mr Ali had served as a permanent secretary for 14 consecutive years, making him one of the longest-serving senior civil servants in the portfolio.
Despite the end of his tenure in the Trade Ministry, Rokovada said discussions had taken place regarding the possibility of Mr Ali continuing his service elsewhere within the civil service.
“I have broached with Mr Shaheen Ali the possibility of moving to another ministry in the civil service,” he said.
Rokovada said PSC would announce the new permanent secretary for commerce and business development before the end of next week. Questions sent to Mr Ali on Tuesday and again yesterday had not been responded to at the time of publication.
