LAHORE: A high-powered committee formed under Adviser to the Chief Minister of Punjab on Economic Affairs and Planning Salman Shah has started probing the affairs of more than 30 public-sector companies formed mainly by former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Insiders on Sunday expected filing of corruption references against some of the officials who had held key positions in the companies.

The committee is also expected to assess the viability of the companies so as to discard those not suitable.

Insiders told Dawn on Sunday that the committee was shocked over the affairs of the few companies whose matters it had checked in the beginning. Apparently, there were cases of huge financial and administrative mismanagement and possible corruption amounting to billions of rupees, they said. One such company was formed to run slaughterhouses.

CM’s adviser probes affairs to assess viability

They said through companies the Shahbaz government was allegedly running a parallel governance system free of all laws and regulations of the land. Out of the nearly 40 provincial government departments only 10 to 12 were made to deliver. And the government increased the number of public-sector companies to over 70, creating a parallel management and governance system.

As many as 20 public companies were created in the local government department alone, rendering it unable to run its basic functions like sanitation or even managing cattle markets. The companies also robbed the local government department of its much needed income.

Insiders said the committee had found that the secretaries of the departments concerned were made part of the boards of these companies but it was not possible for most of them to attend meetings due to their own heavy workload.

For example, the local government secretary could not attend meetings of the companies concerned in view of the workload of his department. The finance secretary was a member of nearly 40 companies.

“This secretary is the busiest office in the province because he has to look after financial aspects of the entire government besides keeping a close liaison with the federal government, and of foreign financial institutions. As to how he could attend meetings of the 40 companies in addition to his department’s heavy work, is incomprehensible,” the official said.

Insiders said the committee was now asking all the departments concerned to provide balance sheets of their companies, their objectives and business plans and justify as to how each of them could survive if they want to retain any.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2019