Officials say there was ‘tremendous pressure’ on bureaucracy due to DG Ehtesab Commission’s unbridled powers
KP’s development budget remained under-utilised as officials postponed proposals for new projects for fear of scrutiny
Bureaucrats in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) saw the former KP Ehtesab Commission director general Lt-General (r) Hamid Khan’s unchecked powers as the main hurdle in the launch and execution of developmental projects in the province.
Talking to Pakistan Today, officials in the KP said that they were under tremendous pressure due to the DG KP Ehtesab Commission’s unbridled powers, which is why they took a sigh of relief on his resignation because he had unchecked powers to arrest anyone on a mere complaint.
They said that the Ehtesab Commission’s draconian powers had caused terror among the senior officials of the province and brought the machinery of the government almost to a standstill, as finance bills, procurement and purchase orders and tender documents for government projects had been frozen, fearing they would come under suspicion and scrutiny if they sign them.
They said that the officials in the province were so scared that they preferred to postpone proposals for new projects with one excuse or another excuse.
They welcomed the amendments in the KP Ehtesab Act and said that earlier the DG had all the powers and prerogatives to put any person behind bars without any prior investigation. However, they said, the newly introduced amendments curtailed his monopoly to a considerable extent, as now, the matter has to be decided with majority in a five-member commission.
The officials said that the level of fear could be judged from the fact that very few funds allocated to the province as development budget were utilised in the first six months of the current fiscal year.
However, they expressed optimism that over 80 to 90 per cent of these funds would be utilised during the next six months, as the threat of an overreaching DG did not loom over their heads.
Another official was of the view that the bureaucrats and federal and provincial legislators had been protected from unnecessary dragging by the EC in corruption allegations through the amendments.
He said that that the commission arrested people first and investigated the corruption charges later, which even if proved wrong could sully the reputation of the person forever. “How would they face their family, friends and relatives after that,” he said, adding that bureaucracy was not opposed to accountability but there should be mechanisms in place to protect people’s reputation and good name.
The officials said that there are strict directives from Pakistan Tehereek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to speed up the process of launching new developmental projects. However, the bureaucrats were unable to comply with the order as they were afraid of the accountability watchdog.
The official said that a meeting was held few days ago to invite suggestions for new mega projects in the province, but not a single department came with a proposal for any mega scheme as they were afraid of getting in the crosshairs of the accountability organisation.
When the scribe asked whether the development works would witness a significant increase now, as there was no fear of accountability, they said that it didn’t mean that they were now free to engage in corruption, but that only the corrupt will face the music, while the rest of the officials will be untainted able to carry out their work uninterrupted.
KP Ehtesab Commission was established through an act of the KP Provincial Assembly in 2014 as an independent and autonomous body for the purpose of combating corruption and restoring public trust in the government and its institutions as these institutions are responsible for the development and delivery of services to the common man. Recovery of the province’s embezzled resources was also a goal of the province’s legislators as the enacted the law.
The area of Jurisdiction of the Commission included organisations, public service officials, politicians as well as citizens involved in malpractices which resulted in loss to the national exchequer.
After the KP government introduced amendments in the act, effectively stifling the powers of the institution, it invited strong criticism from all corners especially from the PTI’s political rivals, because they viewed the amendments by the KP government an attempt to save its own chief minister and other ministers from accountability. The critics said the commission was set to initiate inquiries against them.
However, the PTI chairman rejected the criticism and tweeted that PTI is committed to independent and impartial accountability across the board at all costs, even if it means amending the accountability act further; as it is the only way to fight corruption.
