05 November 2004	Friday	21 Ramazan 1425

ISLAMABAD, Nov 4: Public Accounts Committee has taken serious view of the 'unproductive and imprudent' investment by State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC) causing loss of Rs237.964 million to the national exchequer.

According to a press release issued here on Thursday, the committee observed this in a meeting, which was presided over by the PAC chairman, Malik Allah Yar Khan, to discuss the appropriation accounts and audit paras of three different ministries for the year 2000-2001.

According to Audit Department, the SLIC invested Rs244.744 million on the purchase of portion of a building in Hashoo Centre, Karachi that remained vacant for four years causing loss of Rs108.360 million.

In a similar case, old SLIC building remained vacant for almost five years causing a loss of Rs129.604 million on account of rent. The PAC took serious view of that investment and directed the secretary commerce to conduct an inquiry and fix responsibility on those who are responsible for it.

The PAC also referred another audit objection of investment of Rs0.5 million by SLIC in Arabian Sea Country Club, to the sub-committee already constituted to probe the similar investment in the same club by Pakistan Steel Mills.

The PAC ordered for conducting Special Audit of the Insurance and Reinsurance Corporations under the administrative control of ministry of commerce with special reference to their investment portfolios. The committee took this decision while discussing an audit objection pertaining to imprudent decisions of investing Rs2.067 million by Pakistan Insurance Corporation on the purchase of shares of loss sustaining industries.

The committee was informed that the corporation also did not receive any dividend after the year 1989 till date and the market value of the shares had also further deteriorated.

Earlier, the PAC also took up audit paras of ministries of planning and development and privatization for the year 2000- 2001. The PAC directed the Principal Accounting Officers of the ministries concerned to strengthen their internal financial controls, strictly monitor the utilization of its budgetary allocations and to reconcile their accounts with the AGPR regularly.

The committee regularized various audit observations subject to the confirmation by the Audit Department and as recommended by the Departmental Accounts Committees (DAC) of the respective ministries.

The meeting was attended by MNAs including Lt-Col (retired) Ghulam Rasool Sahi, Syed Qurban Ali Shah, Dr Abdul Ghafar Khan Jatoi, Chaudhry Nisar Khan, Riaz Fatiyana, Mohammad Safdar Shakir, Maj (retied) Tanvir Hussain Syed apart from auditor-general of Pakistan, and and other officials.