ISLAMABAD: What must have been an easy task for auditors conducting audit of the amount spent on the controversial 2013 National Games has now become a cumbersome job with the stakeholders involved in the imbroglio slinging mud at each other.

The 2013 National Games were conducted by a five-member committee comprising Rana Mujahid (who is now Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary), Asif Bajwa (who is now president of the basketball federation) and the-then Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Director General late Amir Hamza Gilani besides two other members.

Dawn has learnt that organising committee of the Games has been using delaying tactics in handing over official record to the audit team.

Sources said that despite repeated attempts made by the three-member committee tasked with holding audit of the controversial National Games, the organising committee which supervised the Games is yet to provide relevant record to the audit committee.

Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) secretary Ejaz Chaudhry ordered officials concerned of the ministry and PSB on April 17 to hold audit of the contentious Games but the IPC secretary is yet to see his orders being implemented.

“We are facing problems in conducting the audit as the organising committee despite our request is not providing the details of the expenditures incurred on the Games. Finally, we have to issue a show-cause notice to members of the organising committee,” maintained secretary of the IPC, which oversees sports in the country, while talking to Dawn.

The three-member audit committee tasked with holding of audit comprises IPC Chief Financial Officer Mohsin Atta, IPC Joint Secretary Mirza Khalid Mahmood and PSB officer Habib Shah.

Ejaz Chaudhary who is also holding acting charge of PSB Director General said that in case the audit committee was not provided with the details, the ministry could decide the matter unilaterally.

Earlier, the PSB reportedly made several attempts in connection with initiating the audit of the Games, but according to them, the organising committee didn’t share expenditure statement. And finally, the IPC had to intervene last month by deciding to conduct audit of the controversial Games.

“If the Games in question were held transparently then why the organising committee is shying away from providing the details about expenditures to the PSB as well as the audit committee,” said a senior IPC official who went on to say that earlier the PSB sought to get the expenditure statement from the organising committee but to no avail.

Audit of the Games should have been completed within a few weeks after completion of the Games, held the IPC official.

The Games were held from June 28 to July 4, 2013 amid intense rivalry between the two parallel bodies of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) with one being headed by retired General

Arif Hasan while the chief of the other POA body was retired General Akram Sahi.

The PSB was supporting the Sahi-led POA due to which the majority of the sports federations sided with the group by participating in the contentious Games. On the other hand, federations supporting the Arif-led POA stayed away from the controversial Games.

The PSB besides providing Rs106 million to the organising committee for holding of the National Games also spent Rs24 million in the name of renovation and maintenance of the sports complex.

Some PSB officials while holding the PSB culpable in organising the controversial Games believe that huge chunk of the allocated amount was embezzled by the PSB in the so-called maintenance and renovation of the sports complex.

They said that the PSB never wholeheartedly sought to resolve the issue of the parallel POA bodies, adding that several PSB officials at the time in fact tried to fan the rival bodies’ issue by helping the parallel POA of Akram Sahi just to plunder millions of rupees specifically meant for the promotion of sports.

The PSB officials told Dawn that the 2013 National Games could have been organised with much lesser amount but the PSB kept on spending the amount at their own will.

“The audit team will conduct audit of not only the National Games but also the money spent in the name of renovation by the PSB,” said another PSB official.

On the other hand, a senior official of the-then Akram Sahi-led POA rival body wishing not to be named claimed that there was no issue of handing over expenditure details to the audit committee and went on to say that the PSB in order to hide its own corruption is busy fanning the issue of the 2013 National Games.

“What is going on in the PSB? Its director general Akhtar Ganjera who was de-seated by the Lahore High Court is still calling the shots in the PSB as DG technical. So, before going to conduct audit of the Games, the IPC should focus on bringing improvement in the PSB,” he contended.

Meanwhile, a member of the organising committee also requesting not be named claimed that the committee in 2013 had handed over all expenditure details to the-then PSB DG Amir Hamza Gilani.

When asked why they were not providing financial record to audit committee he said: “Actually, the DG who organised the Games died last year. And we had provided all record to him. Whether he had maintained the record or not we don’t know but we are ready to provide whatever we have to the audit committee,” the member said while stating that he would very soon appear before the audit committee.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2015

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