OPF awarded Rs2.4 bn contract without tender, PAC told

ISLAMABAD: A sub-committee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Thursday was informed that Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) awarded single party contract of Rs2.4 billion without offering any tender in violation of PPRA Rules.

The officials of the OFP justified the award of single party contract to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) by telling the committee that it was awarded as the land was illegally occupied by the land grabbers. The sub-committee directed for solving the matter of awarding single party contract to the FWO in 30 days.

Audit officials were of the view that awarding the contract to any single party or without tendering is a violation of PPRA Rules. The meeting was chaired by Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in which the audit paras related to the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development for the fiscal year 2011-12 were scrutinised.

The issue of purchase of land of Rs108 million by the EOBI also came up before the sub-committee and it constituted a committee comprising of secretary Ministry of Interior and FIA to probe the matter and to submit the report by July 16.

While examining the audit para with regard to non-deposit of Rs20 billion of the Workers Welfare Fund by the Finance Ministry, the committee directed to submit the inquiry report in this regard within seven days.

Ayaz Sadiq said this matter was pending since 2006-07 and no progress was made so far. Audit officials asked the committee to direct the Finance Ministry to deposit the amount back into accounts of Workers Welfare Fund.

The representative of the Finance Ministry replied that if this amount belongs to Workers Welfare Fund then they would get it. The sub-committee of the PAC directed to probe the matter and submit the report within next seven days. It also examined the issue of purchasing shares worth Rs4.82 billion by the EOBI and directed to probe the matter and submission of report within seven days.