THE arrest of former Director General of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera and his two aides by the FIA in alleged massive corruption pertaining to Narowal sports city project recently has thoroughly exposed the working of the institution besides bringing disgrace to it.

The multi-billion project lies in the constituency of former Minister for Interior and Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal. There are reports that he along with former Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC) Riaz Hussain Pirzada may also be investigated.

Eminent people of integrity with rich background of sports have remained at the helm of affairs in the PSB in yesteryears. It was a Brigadier-level post and men like retired Brig Abdul Hamid ‘Hamidi’, retired Brig Daniel Austin, retired Brig Zaffar Hayat, retired Brig Saulat Abbas and retired Brig Arif Siddiqui among others, have served it with dignity.

Men like Khawaja Saleem, Nabi Ahmed Kalat, Zakir Hussain Syed, honorary Capt Ghulam Raziq and honorary Capt Bashir have also served the institution gracefully.

Constituted in 1962 under the ministry of education through an ordinance to promote sports, the administrative control of the PSB was transferred to the ministry of sports, culture and tourism after its creation in July 1977. The PSB now comes under the ministry of IPC.

Of late, the PSB had remained in news not for any good work but for corruption, patronising parallel bodies, doling out funds to blue-eyed federations and violating its own rules in sending sportspersons abroad among others.

People are questioning that why the need arise to construct a multi-billion rupees sports city project in Narowal when an international facility already exists in Islamabad.

Ahsan Iqbal could have announced the same project either for Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or Balochistan, they argued.

Perturbed on the PSB affairs Arif Siddiqui has demanded immediate restructuring, last five years critical audit of malpractices, maladministration, placement under ministry of eduction, appointment of an efficient DG with sports background, curtailing the staff with clerical mindset and doing away with unions in the instuitution forthwith.

Terming the separation of ministry of sports from education as ‘divorce’ the former DG PSB said it marked the beginning of the end which is evident from country’s worst-ever performance at the Jakarta Asian Games. “By doing this with one stroke of the pen you have eliminated the nursery,” he said.

Recalling the Rodham and Hamidi era he said they were towering figures and has immensely contributed to the uplift of sports in the country. Unfortunately, all their good work has gone down the drain and a number of people including Ganjera are responsible.

He regretted that the PSB has four centres in all provincial capitals but most of them are being run by a superintendent. Sports has become a science and can’t be run by people with clerkical mindset, he argued.

He called for adopting revolutionary measures by inducting full fledged professional DG with hire and fire authority besides fresh university graduates to run its affairs and lift the standard.

He was of the opinion that the PSB should also curtail financing to 15-16 performance-based disciplines (teams and individual sports) instead of patronising 40 plus national federations.

“The PSB has deviated from its original role to promote sports and indulged into federation’s politics for well over a decade,” one of the senior most sports official of the country and president of the Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) S. M. Sibtain told Dawn.

He said the PSB used to lend out support to the national federations and he had interacted with a number of DG’s for the last 45 years. “All the ex DG’s until Brig Arif Siddiqui were all aboveboard,” he added.

He added that things changed drastically and the PSB people started asking federations for foreign tours, cut in grants, promoting parallel federations and alleged misappropriation.

Meanwhile, spread over a huge 24.5 acres of land, Karachi’s PSB Coaching Centre, is in dilapidated condition and had no director for the last eight to 10 years Dawn has learnt.

The new multi-purpose indoor gymnasium project on the backside of the previous one, separate women’s hostel and flats for employees could not be completed despite passing of some eight years which is a poor reflection.

According to official figures, the centre has generated approximately 23 million in the last five years from 2013-2014 to 2017-2018 by renting out its premises for sports events.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2018