The real concerns of parliamentarians about spending can easily be gauged from the fact that around 98 percent of the lawmakers did not bother taking audit reports on the accounts of various federal ministries and public sector enterprises for the financial year 2009-10 with them since their tabling in the House on July 22.
These 98 percent MNAs who have no time to learn about the embezzlements and financial irregularities, other wise miss no opportunity to express anger over the misuse of public money, probably for public consumption.
When the National Assembly session was summoned last month on the requisition of the opposition, the finance minister laid audit reports 2010-11 on the accounts of financial year 2009-10 in the House on the second and last days of the session.
The NA session was again summoned on August 1 but by Thursday (August 4), only two to three percent of lawmakers from the Lower House showed interest in learning about the utilisation of the national exchequer in the PPP government’s second financial year, while the bundles of 98 percent lawmakers were present below their desks.
PML-N lawmakers, who miss no opportunity to hit the government hard for its alleged corruption and misappropriation of public money, exhibited no interest in going through the audit reports.
On the one hand, the PML-N is raising concerns over the appointment of auditor general of Pakistan and its leaders claim that the government is planning to appoint its favourite bureaucrat to the key watchdog post to make the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) ineffective, but on the other, party lawmakers have no interest in knowing how public money was utilised or looted in the previous years.
An audit official said the lawmaker’s attitude encouraged public servants to eat away tax payers’ money.
“How can parliamentarian take up corruption cases in the House without having solid information about them,” he added.
