Govt decides to be its own auditor

· Govt considering to move a summary to PM for transferring administrative powers of Audit and Accounts Services Cadre from AGP to Finance Ministry

· Move termed a violation of Articles 168 to 171 of the Constitution

· Development comes at a time when 536 audits of over Rs 14 trillion are in progress as part of FY 2013-2014 audit of various federal govt ministries

The federal government is considering to transfer the administrative powers of the office of the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) to the Ministry of Finance, a move ostensibly aimed at preventing an independent audit of the first year’s performance of the government, Pakistan Today has learnt on good authority.

Informed sources told Pakistan Today that the government has prepared a summary to be sent to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for his approval to change OM vide No1/2/74- ARC dated January 23,1974, of the Audit & Accounts Cadre Services, giving the administrative control of the group to the Ministry of Finance secretary thus making the AGP’s office ‘meaningless’ and making the government’s fiscal accountability practically impossible.
“By making the federal finance secretary the service administrator, the constitutional role of the Auditor General Pakistan (AGP) will be finished and the audit will come under the Executive’s control, which would be a blatant violation of Articles 168 to 171 of the Constitution,” said the sources, adding that such powers could not be transferred without a constitutional amendment.
The Establishment Division (ED) had earlier transferred 17 auditors of grade 20 and 21 in violation of set rules and procedures.
The ED’s notification was issued in violation of its own OM No 1/2/74 dated January 23,1974 wherein it is stated in Para 12 that Inter-Departmental Cadre of Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service will be administered by the AGP, in a bid to keep the office free of executive control.
The developments have come at a time when 536 audits to the tune of over Rs 14 trillion are in progress as part of FY 2013-2014 audit of various federal government ministries.
Out of the 17 officers issued transfer orders, six have sought stay orders from the high courts in Sindh and Islamabad.
The courts have granted stay orders against transfer notifications of Sindh Accountant General Ashraf Shaikh, Naval Accounts Controller Jalaluddin Langah, Military Accountant General Farhad Khan, Military Accounts Controllers Tariq Maqsood and Farzand Ali Adil and Federal Audit Director General Dr Asifur Rehman.
AGP-DAR TIFF:
This standoff between the Ministry of Finance led by Senator Ishaq Dar and the Auditor General’s Office (AGP) headed by Akhtar Buland Rana came to fore when the latter reportedly refused to ‘look the other way’ as the Finance Minister told him to approve direct release of Rs 480 billion to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to clear the circular debt through State Bank of Pakistan.
Out of the total amount of Rs 480 billion, Rs 64 billion was reportedly taken out from Universal Services Fund (USF) which can never be drawn and used under the law for another head other than scholarships for students of Information Technology sector or for the growth and development of the IT sector. The matter is already pending with the Supreme Court of Pakistan which has taken notice of the scam. In his comments over the matter, Rana had termed the payment as “illegal”.
Not only this, Rana further angered the minister when he refused to remove some audit paras against top PML-N and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders from the audit report for financial year 2013-14, audit of which has started on July 1.
Angry over Rana’s defiance, Dar decided to move a reference against him in the Supreme Judicial Council for his removal. Rana took oath as AGP on August 27, 2011 for a four-year term and is set to retire in August 2015. Under the Constitution, he could prematurely be removed from his post only under Article 109.
The government also took the battle with the AGP to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly, raising an objection on Rana’s “excessive salary”.
In retaliation, the AGP filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) last month pleading the court to restrain Dar from interfering in the administrative matters of his office.
Through his counsel Saeed Khurshid, Rana pleaded that the finance minister has been “persistently interfering” in his matters illegally and that the government was instituting cases against him through police and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The AGP made the finance minister, finance secretary, Finance Additional Secretary Bashir Ahmad and Controller General of Accounts (CGA) Farah Tareen respondents in the case. Responding to Rana’s petition, the IHC restrained Finance Minister Dar and other officials of the Finance Ministry from meddling in the AGP office’s affairs.