The Public Accounts Committee Thursday sought detailed report on the government organisations defaulting foreign loans so that necessary action could be taken against the respective principal accounting officers.
The committee met under the chair of Chairman Nadeem Afzal Gondal and took up the audit paras of the ministries of economic affairs division and education and training. EAD Additional Secretary Iftikhar Ahmed Rao apprised the committee that almost all of the organizations were defaulting the foreign loans which later become burden on the national exchequer as the government has later to pay the same from its own funds.
The audit paras contained a list of 14 organisations who owed Rs 32.538 billion foreign loans for the last 12 years out of which the EAD could recover Rs 31.90 billion as the agencies had either deposited the amount into State Bank of Pakistan or got written off or converted into equity of the government.
The audit authorities have admitted about the efforts made by the EAD regarding the pursuance of such cases and bringing it to ECC and getting decision that no new loan would be extended to such agencies which were defaulting payment of earlier loans. To this, the committee asked the EAD to furnish a report containing names of all defaulting organizations and period of the loan and status of the projects for what they had got loan.
Additional Secretary Iftikhar Rao said after four-month period of loan closure, the organisation concerned is bound to pay three kinds of charges but none of the borrowers bothers about this burden. Iftikhar Rao apprised the committee that NHA had incurred loss of Rs770 million when they got loan to acquire Authority’s own land. The committee member Khuram Dastgir viewed the government was responsible for this drawback as after extending loan, no one seemed to be there to ensure its judicious use.
The committee head said the list of such organisations would also be publicized through media and directed the EAD to take up the issue at the Prime Minister’s level. The committee said the PAC Directorate should ask all government organisations concerned why they had not yet paid the loan and their position to pay the same.
The committee expressed displeasure over the performance of the Finance Ministry to handle the issue and curb misuse of the facility. On a point, the additional secretary apprised the committee that the government has yet received $2.08 billion under Kerry Lugar Bill of which 76 percent was being spent off-budget through various NGOs and the rest 24 percent on-budget. However, Iftikhar Rao said the government was trying to urge the relevant authorities to spend almost 50 percent of the amount on-budget.
Discussing the audit paras of the Education and Training Ministry, the committee head questioned as to under which law the NCH had purchased tickets worth $40,250 for Cricket World Cup 2007 for fund-raising by selling them if Pakistan reached the final. The committee sought report within a fortnight as to whether the laws allowed such practice or the procedure to pay back the amount by the board members voluntarily was legal.
The committee settled various audit paras and asked the relevant ministries to verify others from the audit department against those they had recovered the amount.
