PESHAWAR, Nov 11: The Public Accounts Committee of the NWFP Assembly has detected financial bungling to the tune of Rs96 million at the Khyber Teaching Hospital during the year 1997-98 and has recommended the handing over of the case to a special committee of the assembly.

The Public Account Committee (PAC) meeting, held here on Tuesday and presided over by NWFP Assembly Speaker Bakht Jehan Khan, was also attended by its members, MPAs Shah Raz Khan, Khalid Waqar Chamkani, Jamshed Khan, Pir Mohammad Khan, Abdul Akbar Khan and Anwar Kamal Khan Marwat.

However, upon the request of Health Secretary Dr Ihsanul Haq to give more time to submit a reply to the audit objections, the meeting was postponed till Monday.

The committee went through a 71-page report prepared by an inquiry committee on the directives of then chief minister Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan in 1997-98, which included embezzlement in user charges by the officials concerned, including private room and the money obtained from cabins, car-parking fee.

The PAC expressed concern that not only the public money was embezzled, but a large amount was given to some employees on loan basis, which was never returned. It said that crockery was also purchased in the name of the hospital without any need.

On the occasion, the health secretary informed the PAC that the officials involved in this particular case, had already been terminated from services. However, the committee members disagreeing with him, and argued that the low-grade employees, could not do the at such a scale without the support of the higher officials and recommended action against the higher officials of the hospital.

The PAC was of the view that store keeper and cashier of the hospital deposited the money obtained from user charges in their private accounts, but the administration didn’t take any disciplinary action.

The health secretary, however, said that the doctors working at the administrative posts in the hospital lacked financial experience and therefore, they signed the documents whenever put to them.

PAC Chairman Bakht Jehan Khan expressed concern that despite such big financial irregularities, recovery was not made from the people concerned and no one took the inquiry report seriously.

He also expressed dissatisfaction over the internal audit system of the KTH and also ordered to present a report before the committee concerning the internal audit system.

The secretary conceded flaws in the internal audit system of the hospital and sought more time to reply the queries of the committee’s members with regard to their objections.