LAHORE: Approval of the 2009-10 budget and that of a domestic structure will be on top of the preference list when, constitutionally, the last meeting of the present Governing Board of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is held here on Saturday.

In the last meeting, held on Oct 14, the Governing Board members did not approve the budget for 2007-08 because various objections – raised by the auditors – had not been removed. Similarly, the budget for 2008-09 could not be audited as yet.

Showing lacklustre attitude towards financial matters, the PCB is yet to get approval for the 2009-10 budget, a task which should have been done before July 1, 2009. Therefore, until now, the four months’ expenditure in the ongoing financial year has been managed without approval of a competent authority.

Surprisingly, the PCB did not send the accounts for 2007-8 and 2008-09 to the Governing Board members for their approval. However, the board sent the accounts for 2007-08 to the International Cricket Council (ICC) for meeting its requirement to receive funds from the game’s world governing body.

Moreover, Director General PCB Javed Miandad, also one of the GB members, will present the domestic structure for approval at the meeting. In the last meeting, acting Director NCA and Game Development Haroon Rasheed, a former Test cricketer, was to give the presentation but Miandad objected that it was his domain to look after the game’s domestic affairs. Upon this the other GB members backed Miandad who was asked to present his own structure at the Nov 7 assembly.

Meanwhile, though constitutionally the current GB has completed its two-year tenure, there are chances they would get extension for an indefinite period as the PCB has recently appointed Samee Khan as the election commissioner.

Samee would first hold elections in all the districts and regions after which the new regional representative will be elected to replace the existing members.

Currently, Lahore, Karachi, Multan, Islamabad and Peshawar regions are the GB members. The next turn is of Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Quetta, and Abbottabad.

Though Samee has decided to first complete the election process in Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Quetta and Abbottabad, it will take months, providing opportunity to the existing members to continue. However, it cannot be done easily because it will require backing of the PCB chairman.