LAHORE, June 3: As many as 48 non-government organisations (NGOs) that received up to Rs1.5 million interest-free loans from the Punjab Health Foundation (PHF) each have not undergone an audit for the last 18 years or so.

This was revealed during a briefing to the Public Accounts Committee of the Punjab Assembly by the PHF and Medical Storage Department here on Friday.

The meeting was presided over by PAC-I acting chairman Maj Rana Abdur Rehman (retired).

Calling the performance of both the departments “unsatisfactory”, Rehman said the PHF was founded 18 years back but it could not initiate a single project under public-private partnership. He directed the managing director of the foundation to form its policy within three months besides providing interest-free loans to young doctors for establishing their clinics.

PHF Managing Director Dr Samia informed the committee members that a budget of Rs500 million had been allocated at the time of its establishment in 1993 for providing interest-free loans to doctors for setting up their clinics and hospitals. But, the foundation received only Rs376.7 million.

She said the ratio to return loan by doctors and NGOs was 98 and 99 per cent, respectively. She said only 2,077 doctors applied for loans during last 18 years.

The acting chairman wondered as to why a number of jobless doctors were not interested in the loan.

She also could not offer a satisfactory answer when asked as to why the audit of 48 NGOs could not be conducted.

MPA Rehman directed the PHF to make a hassle-free process for issuing loans to doctors and run an advertisement campaign in the media in this regard.

PAC members Sardar Mohsin Leghari, Nazim Husain Shah, Tariq Gujjar and Mehr Ishtiaq were also present.