PAC body directs ministries,public sector departments to improve management
By Bushra Rafique

ISLAMABAD—Sub-committee of the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday advised the ministries and public sector organsations to improve their management and efficiency and take steps to stop wastage of public money.
This observation was made by the sub-committee of PAC during its meeting chaired by Riaz Fatiana and attended by Safdar Shakir and Lt Col (retd) Ghulam Rasool Sahi. The committee was examining the Audit reports related to Ministry of Communications,Information Technology Ministry and Ministry of Education for the years 1995-96.
About a grant related to Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) the committee observed that it was unfortunate that the board could not utilize Rs 40 million which could have helped the country to emerge in software market in mid-nineties. While taking up audit para about National Highway Authority (NHA) regarding reported overpayment of Rs 43 million to an Italian firm M/s Pavital the committee opined that there was a need to improve rules related to construction contracts signed with the contractors.
Speaking on the occasion Chairman NHA Major General Farrukh Javed said that often both cost and time overrun are resulted due to consultants carelessness. He said often the NHA has to build extra parking lots, underpasses and interchanges to meet the demands of the local people.He said that Pakistan needs to build good quality roads in minimum possible time.
While defending the reported overpayment of Rs 21 million to a contractor,Member Motorways NHA Altaf Chaudhry said that World Bank,the borrowing agency,agreed that in case of that contract,there were only two options either to terminate the contract or re-rate the items.He further said that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) held an inquiry and found no misappropriation in the project. While examining an audit para related to Ministry of Education the PAC sub-committee made the observation that due to bad management foreign scholarships are wasted.The committee also took exception to the ministry’s failure to take proper action against 22 persons who settled abroad and never returned to perform five year compulsory service under the contract.
The ministry told the PAC sub-committee that against 325 scholarships,308 teachers were selected by foreign Training Committee but 259 proceeded abroad out of which 22 absconded there.