From refreshments and the lunch of parliamentarians to the honorarium for BS-21 officers and above during the budget session of parliament and its preparations, all the spending by the Finance Ministry from the taxpayers money in 2013-14 was irregular and unauthorised. In his annual report for the audit year 2013-14, the Auditor General of Pakistan revealed that not only was the Rs6.1 million spent on entertainment of MPs during the budget session in June 2014 unauthorised but Rs15 million paid to 28 top (BS-21 and above) bureaucrats was also irregular. Interestingly, among the recipients of the “unauthorised” honorarium besides several top bureaucrats of the finance and other divisions, the name of the then adviser to the Finance Ministry and today’s auditor general of Pakistan is also reflected in the report. The report said that the Finance Division incurred an expenditure of Rs6.182 million on refreshments and lunch for parliamentarians under the head of account “entertainment and gifts” during 2013-14. The finance ministry has argued that the prime minister had approved this use of the funds but as the auditor general points out there is no provision for this in the rules. The honorariums given to dozens of bureaucrats also need to be explained. The former advisor to the finance minister and the current auditor general rather surprisingly appear on the list of those who benefited. The justification that because MNAs remain in parliament for a long time, they need quality food and refreshments is simply not enough. The fact that no proper tenders exist for the food provided to them is also very disturbing. Not one but an entire set of rules was then broken. The indifference over how we spend public money is palpable. Clearly, our leaders and decision-makers are willing to squander the money of the people of this country. We need to examine precisely how incidents such as these take place, and put in mechanisms that can prevent them from happening in the future. Vast sums of money are spent on parliamentarians and other people who hold positions of importance. This is simply a travesty at a time when we are so desperate for resources to spend on the sectors like education and health that really require them. We hope the inquiry will go further and will help deter wrongdoing of this kind in the future.
pk.shafaqna.com
