PAC asks audit authorities to focus on good governance

PESHAWAR: Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has asked the audit and accounts authorities to focus on performance audit with the sole aim to ensure good governance and eradicate corruption from the public sector organisations.

The committee, however, expressed satisfaction on the recovery ratios of the Food Department and especially lauded its steps for increasing supply of wheat in the nook and corner of the province as well as normalising its rate during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.

The observation was made during a meeting of the PAC on disposing audit paras on fiscal anomalies in Food Department. The meeting was chaired by MPA Muhammad Idrees at KP Assembly Secretariat in Peshawar. MPA Inayatullah, and high ups of the Food, Law, Finance, Accounts & Audit departments were also present.

The committee expressed satisfaction on the process of recoveries. However, it referred cases of certain fiscal irregularities to the sub-committees concerned for verification. The committee further asked the audit and accounts officials to avoid creating audit paras based on merely raising objections on petty matters that did not tantamount to yielding financial benefits to the public exchequer, but rather resulting in waste of precious time and energy of the government departments.

The committee, however, asked the departments for expediting the process of recoveries in respect of damages caused to public funds during the under Pera periods including loss due to delay of recoveries from defaulters.

The committee decided to ensure two big recoveries from the food contractor MS Evergreen Trading company (Rs1.747m and Rs1.359m) over overpayment due to decrease in transportation charges in Mardan and Malakand districts.

The Food Department was asked to pursue the case after stay orders of the contractor lapsed in the court of justice and ensure these recoveries immediately. The chair further asked for non-inclusion of minor audit paras in the PAC agenda and ensuring its early audit in DACs to save precious time of the PAC and public institutions’ senior officials.