Audit of devolved ministry not possible, officials tell PAC panel

ISLAMABAD: Meeting of the sub-committee of the Public Accounts Committee that was called to take up the audit paras relating to the Ministry of National Food Security was postponed, as officials of the Ministry came out with the excuse that the record relating to the audit paras was missing following the devolution process.
The sub-committee meeting was presided over by its chairperson Shahida Akhtar Ali. It could not hold any proceedings as officials of the Ministry told the committee that after the enactment of the 18th Amendment, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock was devolved to provinces and during the implementation process the record was found missing.
The sub-committee of the PAC observed that when it was inquired about the record of 1996-97 then it was said that the record was missing and majority of the officials of that time had died. They even pointed out the graveyard where an official was buried in Rahim Yar Khan. They argued that it was not possible to conduct the audit when the record was missing.
The committee also observed that if the committee examines the audit objections related to two or three years old accounts, it might be possible as the concerned persons might still be alive and in service. Chairperson of the Sub-committee of the PAC Shahida Akhtar Ali observed that the audit objections could not be examined without record and directed the concerned officials to present the record before the committee within three weeks time.