May 15, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 9, 1429

LAHORE, May 14: Five members of the Senate Standing Committee on Sports have alleged that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has conveyed them wrong information about the amount of its staff’s monthly salaries and have demanded a factual situation within four days.

In a letter submitted to the Secretary, Senate Standing Committee on Sports, a copy of which has been obtained by Dawn, the senators state: “During the PCB’s presentation on May 8, 2008 to the Senate Standing Committee on Sports, it was stated by the PCB’s Chief Operating Officer [Shafqat Naghmi] that in the first 10 months of the current financial year [July 1, 2007-April 30, 2008] an amount of Rs240,000,000 was paid as salaries to the employees of the PCB. This amounts to a payroll of Rs24,000,000 per month.

“In an earlier meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Sports, it was disclosed in writing by the PCB that the total basic monthly salary of all PCB’s permanent and contracted employees as on May 31, 2007 is Rs6,451,777 [basic salary only].

“In the same disclosure the PCB had stated the total salary package of employees including house rent of 30 per cent and special allowances of 36.7 per cent of the basic pay. Hence the total gross monthly salary as of May 31, 2007 was approximately 6,500,000x1.67 = 10,855,000 [around Rs10.8 million].

“The chief operating officer’s basic salary is only 8.4 per cent and other allowances are 91.6 per cent. Such high allowances may be paid to other employees like the chief selectors of the senior and junior selection committees. The above amount does not include payments to ex-Test cricketers and present Test cricketers,” the letter states.

“The amount is far less than the Rs24,000,000 per month paid in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year as disclosed by PCB’s chief operating officer on May 8, 2008 in the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Sports.

“We, the undersigned members of the committee, are writing to you to show our grave concern on the misstatement of facts, which may have been made to mislead the committee.

“We need a written reply within four days stating the factual situation of the monthly payroll of the PCB,” the letter concludes.

The signatory senators are Haroon Akhtar, Nilofar Bakhtiar, Rozina Alam Khan, Enver Baig and Tahir Mashhadi.