ISLAMABAD: Little progress has been made to hold officials from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the National Information Technology Board (NITB) accountable for failing to implement the Ministry of IT’s e-governance project, which cost the government Rs1.5 billion, a Senate panel observed on Thursday.

The Senate Standing Committee on IT met for a briefing on the actions taken by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against LMK Resources, a private IT company and CDA vendor for the e-services project, as well as officials from the CDA and the NITB responsible for violating rules and embezzling funds for the project.

The FIA has been investigating irregularities in 13 NITB’s projects funded by the Public Sector Development Programme after a complaint was lodged by the Ministry of IT. The FIA said that 13 government departments, including the CDA, did not fully implement e-governance projects for which hundreds of computers had been purchased but were never even switched on.

The e-governance programme is an IT ministry project that began 10 years ago in 13 government departments to encourage a paperless environment.

Senate standing committee briefed on FIA’s actions against private company, CDA, NITB for failing to implement project

The matter was brought to the committee’s attention by Senator Azam Swati, and the senators were told that failure to implement the project cost the government over Rs1.5 billion.

The FIA has been tasked with investigating the reasons behind the failure to implement the project in all the departments. As part of the investigation, an FIA forensic team has inspected some 45 servers and 500 computers, printers and paraphernalia, including software, at the CDA premises that was purchased under the project.

In his briefing, FIA Director Shakeel Ahmed Durrani alleged that gross negligence fell on LMK Resources, which was engaged by the CDA to automate its offices.

“FIRs have been registered against three government officials, but they have not been apprehended,” Mr Durrani told the committee.

“After receiving 75pc of the CDA’s project cost, LMKR failed to deliver the software for the computer systems,” he said.

LMK Resources Vice President of Research and Development Haroon Sharif told the committee that it would fulfil its commitment to deliver the software at any given moment, but alleged that the CDA was resistant to change and opposed automation.

“We have developed the software and are ready to give a demonstration. We conducted trainings for CDA officials but there has been a lack of interest to adapt to new technology,” Mr Sharif said.

However, FIA official Ejaz Ahmad Khan refused Mr Sharif’s claims, saying: “The FIA will withdraw from its investigation against LMKR provided LMKR can deliver immediately.”

The committee was informed that an FIR has been registered against the owner of LMK Resources, Atif Rais, for failing to automate the CDA. FIRs have also been registered against NITB Executive Director Syed Raza Abbas, NITB Project Director Faisal Kamran and CDA Management Division IT consultant Dr Athar Mansoor.

However, State Minister for IT Anusha Rehman questioned the FIA on “harassing” Atif Rais and not apprehending government officials in the CDA and NITB.

“LMKR has automated several government departments. The private sector IT company has automated the entire Ministry of IT. Why is it that the project failed in the CDA? The e-governance project has also been successfully implemented in the FIA,” she said.

Committee chairman Senator Shahi Syed directed for the CDA chairman and concerned officials to be summoned for a briefing on the case at the next meeting.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2017