KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly Public Accounts Committee on Monday decided to demand from the assembly suo motu powers to carry out validation of accounts of public sector institutions, including alma mater, by third party instead of completely relying on reports of the Auditor General of Pakistan.

This was stated by PAC Chairman Saleem Raza Jalbani while considering the audit reports of the University of Karachi and Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro.

He asked the director general for audit in Sindh to ensure that audit reports in future mention number of draft paras framed and those settled after verification of documents produced by relevant officials.

The PAC chief issued the directive after finding that there was only one and two draft paras mentioned in the audit reports of Karachi University and LUMHS, respectively.

Audit DG Ghulam Akbar Sohu, however, explained that the finance director in the varsities were grade 20 officials who ensured financial discipline and that record be made available at the time of audit.

In reply to a question, he said that the audit recovered Rs1.107 billion, including Rs122.087 million, from various public sector institutions during the year 2009-10.

Earlier, PAC member Syed Sardar Ali Shah said a committee of legal experts would be constituted to draft amendments keeping in view the powers of public accounts committees in developing countries. The draft would then be sent to the Sindh Assembly for action, he added.

He also expressed surprise over the few number of paras mentioned in the audit reports of KU and LUMHS for settlement unlike audit reports of other varsities which usually had many paras to be verified and settled.

Taking up the two audit paras of LUMHS involving Rs0.969 million non-accountal of stores articles and Rs0.169 million regarding non-adjustment/recovery of temporary advances, Mr Sohu said that all the relevant record produced for audit was verified and found correct. He also said Rs0.169 million was sanctioned by the HEC to an officer for research project that was adjusted by the officer directly with the HEC whose letter in this connection (dated 12.6.12) was produced along with vouchers of expenditure and its report was also attached.

Settling the para involving Rs0.969 million and para amounting Rs0.169 million subject to verification of the letter by the DG audit, the PAC questioned about the four-year delay in producing the documents. LUMHS Vice Chancellor Dr Naushad Shaikh explained that the varsity had been writing to the HEC whose response delayed due to certain issues it had been facing. The amount was given to a professor for research whose expenditure statement along with payment of vouchers was acknowledged by the HEC and its letter was also attached. About a stock register, it was produced in which all the articles purchased were accounted for properly, the vice chancellor said, promising to the PAC that they would ensure to avoid such delays in future.

When Karachi University’s only para involving Rs69.822 million expenditure on purchase of books, journals, furniture & fixture, printing & publications without inviting open tenders was taken up, Vice Chancellor Dr Mohammad Qaisar informed the PAC that books and journals amounting Rs35 million were purchased in accordance with the procedure laid down by the government and its letter was also attached while the Rs6.930 million procurement of furniture was not required to be uploaded on the PPRA website, as the amount was below Rs100,000. However, he said, open tenders were called whose record was produced to the audit team.

Regarding Rs4.393 million printing & publications, the PAC was informed that the university had its own printing and publication department that printed material relating to semester exams to avoid leakage and malpractice.

The PAC referred the para to its subcommittee to verify the documents and settle it.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, the vice chancellor said the KU academic council had already changed its admission policy with the result that students from Sindh, including rural areas, were preferred to those from the other provinces.

Published in Dawn, August 12th , 2014