The Public Accounts Committee was informed on Thursday that the office of the Auditor General of Pakistan was not being given access to financial accounts worth billions of rupees of the National Rural Support Programme.
Audit officials told the committee that met with Yasmeen Rehman in the chair that the government was providing billions of rupees to the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) for community development projects across the country, but the Audit Department had been denied access to its financial accounts. The PAC then directed the government for providing the financial data of NRSP for audit.
The committee observed that on one hand, the NSRP had been staffed with retired officials from various departments who enjoyed hefty perks and privileges, but on the other, it was hesitant to put itself up for audit. Asked why the ministry was reluctant to get the accounts of the NRSP audited, Planning Secretary Sohail Ahmad clarified that the funds were directly provided to NSRP by the Planning Commission and his ministry had little role to play in the process.
However, he assured the committee that the ministry would assist audit officials in the future to get the records accounted for.
The PAC also came down hard on PTA Chairman Muhammad Yaseen while reviewing audit objections regarding unauthorised retention of official vehicles and others perks. Reviewing the audit objections about unauthorised retention of official vehicles, audit official told the committee that the former PTA director general resigned on December 1, 2008. A vehicle No GA-963 was handed over to the officer on book value, to which he was not entitled for being a contractual employee. Moreover, end service benefits had not been so far finalized, but the vehicle was handed over to the officer without the recovery of the book value.
The PAC members strongly criticised the PTA chairman for not registering an FIR against the former DG and delaying the matter deliberately. On it, chairman said in his defence that the former DG had taken a stay order from court over the matter. Unsatisfied with the response, the PAC members grilled him for not taking immediate action and letting the former DG obtain a stay order.
“An FIR should have been lodged against him,” the PAC members said.
Reviewing another audit objection about the misuse of public money worth Rs 2.13 million, audit official informed the committee that IT inventory record showed that 24 luxury items like cameras, exercise machines, cell phones, diesel generators and laptops were purchased and issued to the former chairman.
Former PTA chairman Shahzada Alam clarified that eight of the said items had been returned and another 16 had been paid for according to the book value.