March 21, 2002	Thursday	Muharram 6, 1423

ISLAMABAD, March 20: Ad hoc Public Accounts Committee was informed on Wednesday that the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) had accumulated losses to Rs1,354 million coupled with contingent liabilities to the tune of Rs1,060 million as on June 2001.

The committee, which met at the Parliament House with its chairman H.U. Baig in the chair, noted with concern that the corporation had been brought to the point of no return.

The committee reviewed the accounts pertaining to the USC, disbanded GCP and disposal wing of Ministry of Industries and Production for 2000-01 on basis of audit reports submitted by the Auditor General of Pakistan.

The principal accounting officer blamed the successive government’s policies of directing purchases of various items and providing subsidies thereof. He said meat, burger and magic garments were imported from China without sufficient clientele, while Rs2 billion were advanced to the sugar mills for procurement of sugar which got blocked, and Rs300 million were spent on setting up Awami Markaz in Karachi and Islamabad.

The committee was further informed that some 500 stores of the corporation had been closed down with 50 per cent cut in employees during the year 2000-01 thereby reducing the losses to 50 per cent.

Director general audit on the occasion told the committee that the USC suffered a loss of Rs6.783 million on account of short receipt of imported pulse from Turkey in 1994-95.

The committee expressed its dismay over the accumulated losses to the tune of Rs576.946 million sustained by the Ghee Corporation of Pakistan up to 1999-2000.