Staff honoraria ‘embezzlement’ Sindh ACE summons assembly’s four officials

Karachi: The Sindh Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) on Monday summoned an additional secretary of the Sindh Assembly for September 14 in connection with an enquiry into allegations of embezzlement in honoraria funds for the assembly employees.

On September 11, 2023, ACE Enquiry Officer Inspector Zahid Hussain Mirani, through an official letter the copy of which is available with The News, asked the assembly secretary to direct Additional Secretary Habib Samejo, who is also the Drawing Disbursing Officer (DDO) of the Assembly, to appear before him on September 14 with his complete service record, educational degrees and declaration of assets.

Earlier the ACE had directed Samejo to appear before the ACE on September 7 after which Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani had asked Chief Secretary Dr. Fakhre Alam Irfan to stop the ACE enquiry, saying a departmental inquiry had already been under way. Durrani told the CS that the he would send the enquiry report to the CS.

Durani, through an official letter the copy of which is available with The News, said that a departmental inquiry was under way against the accused officials. Once the speaker receives the inquiry report, he will forward it to the CS and the E&ACE, the letter added.

Sindh government sources told The News that CS Sindh Irfan, who had received the complaint from Assembly’s Special Secretary Muhammad Khan Rind, has ignored Speaker Durani’s request and directed the ACE officers to continue the enquiry.

Sindh ACE officials told this correspondent that laws there is no legal bar on conducting enquiry on a matter which is being probed through a departmental enquiry. They said the complainant faces legal action under section 182 of CrPC in case he makes false or misleading complaint.

The Speaker had also stated in his letter to the CS that Rind is habitual complainant. The ACE had summoned Samejo, Deputy Secretary (Admin) Tariq Hussain Maher and Assistant Secretary (Admin) Munawar Ali Rahoo on Rind’s complaint to appear before it on September 7 with complete record of budget, expenditure, details of employees and the DDO accounts.

Special Secretary Rind had written to the chief secretary about alleged embezzlement of millions of rupees in honoraria payement to the assembly employees. The Sindh government had granted Rs.174.6 million to the assembly as honoraria to the hardworking employees during the last budget session as session allowance. The amount was credited to the accounts of the assembly employees for June 2023 and formally included in their pay slips. However, the amount was allegedly withdrawn and directly transferred to the DDO’ account.

In his complaint, Rind stated that he received complaints from some 100 officials of the Sindh Assembly. Rind alleged that the named officials extracted bribe from the staff and transferred the remaining amount back to them.

Rind alleged that he informed the Speaker in the form of a written note through the Secretary Assembly on August 7, 2023, and recommended lodging an FIR against the accused.

In his complaint, Rind also referred to a previous ACE enquiry against top functionaries of the Sind Assembly involving alleged embezzlement of Rs850m from 2014 to 2017. That inquiry had looped in some of the officers accused in the current complaint.

In his letter letter, Speaker Durani contended that an investigation against the allegations by Muhammad Khan Rind has already been concluded and the Sindh Anti-Corruption Establishment has issued a clearance report to the Sindh Assembly Secretariat for the year 2021-23.

This reporter approached Speaker Durrani and the DDO for their versions on the issue, called their cell numbers and then sent them text messages on their WhatsApp numbers but they did not respond.

However, sources in the assembly secretariat told this correspondent that the speaker’s direction to the CS to stop the inquiries in view of the ongoing departmental inquiries is quite legal and well within his authority.

The sources said that the officials in question have rejected the graft allegations against them. However, the departmental inquiry will separate the facts from fiction, the sources added.