PTI members of PAC seek audit report of circular debt payment

ISLAMABAD: The issue of an audit report on direct payment of Rs480 billion circular debt to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) was raised in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday as the committee members belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf questioned non-production of the audit report despite a commitment made by the Auditor General of Pakistan Rana Asad Amin.
When a PAC meeting on Tuesday started with Dr Azra Fazal in the chair in the absence of Chairman Syed Khursheed Shah, PTI members Shafqat Mehmood and Dr Arif Alvi raised the issue of non-compliance of the commitment made by the AGP to present the raw audit report of the circular debt payment to PAC members.
The PTI members claimed that the AGP made the commitment with the PAC that he would present the audit report to the committee members within 15 days but the report was not presented to them in due time.
AGP Rana Asad Amin took the stance that he had made the commitment that the report will be presented to the members once the Departmental Accounting Committee was held as was requested by the Ministry of Water and Power. “Once the meeting is held, the report will be presented to the PAC members,” he told the meeting.
The AGP said recordings and transcription of the previous meeting could be sought to check his claim. On this, Dr Azra Fazal directed the PAC Secretariat to bring the recordings. The AGP told the committee that the raw audit report has been sent to PAC Chairman Syed Khursheed Shah for his perusal.
However, when the committee inquired from the PAC wing of the National Assembly Secretariat about receiving the audit report on the payment of circular debt, they replied in the negative.
The AGP then explained to the committee that the audit report had been sent directly to the chairman’s office “for chairman’s eyes only” and not to the Secretariat.On this, the PTI members observed that when the audit report had already appeared in the media, then why the PAC members were not given access to the report.
AGP Asad Amin clarified that his department did not leak the audit report.In another case, a stunning revelation made in which a hefty amount of Rs69.12 million from Zakat fund was spent on advertising campaign.
The auditor were of the view that as per provision contained in the Zakat and Ushr ordinance 1980, the payment of advertisement charges from Zakat fund is not a valid charge on Zakat fund.
The audit observed that the an expenditure of Rs69.212 million was incurred during financial year 2009-10 by Ministry of Zakat and Ushr on advertisement campaign was not permissible in Zakat and Ushr Ordinance 1980.
The PAC directed the Ministry of Religious Affairs to sought the legal and religious opinion on the question that whether the funds of Zakat could be spent on advertisement campaign or not, and report back to the committee within one week.