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ISLAMABAD, Nov 17: The opposition in the Senate has requisitioned a meeting of the Senate committee on social welfare and special education to probe the alleged hiring of foreign consultants by the ministry for its various projects.
The notice has been signed by senators Farhatullah Babar and Enver Baig of the PPP and Prof Ghafoor Ahmad of the MMA.
It says, “The press reports of hiring of consultant allegedly for 64 per cent of the total project cost has raised serious questions about the need for foreign consultants, procedures of their selection and their qualification besides grave issue of transparency and accountability involved in it.
“It is an issue of public importance for which a meeting of the Senate committee be called.”
The press reports said minister for special education Zobaida Jalal had allegedly appointed a consultant despite objections by senior officers of her own ministry about the procedure and lack of transparency in hiring consultants.
In the reported case, a foreign consultant was hired by the minister at a fee of 30,000 pounds, which was almost two-third of the total grant given for the project by foreign donors.
The opposition senators have asked the ministry to bring up the record of all the foreign and local consultants hired by it for different projects.
PML-N: Central Information Secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Siddiqul Farooque in a statement said the alleged hiring of World Bank Country Manager John Wall’s wife by the special education minister as consultant against payment of 64 per cent of a project cost was the worst example of corruption.
He said the minister’s action was another proof of the rulers’ “proclivity to prefer personal interests in spending national resources.” He said it was not the first instance, as a large number of such appointments had been made during the past six years.
Mr Farooque said that according to the report an inclusive education project was set up under British and Japanese grants, and the minister hired Ms Hishberg for 30,000 pounds sterling against the reported advice of high officials of her ministry.
He said such actions had not only seriously affected development projects in the country, but had also led international opinion to mistrust financial credibility of the rulers.
He noted that the current delay in the delivery of funds promised by foreign countries for the earthquake victims was also due to that mistrust leading the donors to demand accountability through the auditor general of Pakistan.
He demanded removal of the consultant and appointment of a parliamentary committee to oversee the use of quake funds through the auditor general.
