PAC questions Nespak spending

ISLAMABAD - Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly (NA) has sought a detailed report from the federal secretary water and power within next three months regarding anomalies, misappropriations and misuse of funds by Nespak during the last three years.
The PAC meeting held under its chairman Syed Khurshid Shah on Thursday to review the audit objections raised by auditor general of Pakistan (AGP) for the financial years 2009-12 pertaining to a subsidiary of Ministry of Water and Power.
According to audit officials, Nespak does not pay back a single rupee to the national kitty and the profit it gains from always distributes among its employees in the form of salaries and other perks and privileges.
Naveed Qamar, member of the PAC, raised objection and questioned when the government enhances salaries to the Nespak employees then why the institute itself increases the packages of its employees.
The PAC was informed that management of the Nespak in violation of the merit promoted 70 officials to the rank of general managers and that step taken by the Nespak management dented Rs 220 million to the national exchequer during the last three years.
Similarly, the Nespak management promoted 582 of its employees and caused a loss of Rs 320 million to the national kitty during 2011-12 and the record of the promotions was not even provided to the AGP during audit.
In the same way the Nespak high-ups appointed 569 employees without any advertisement published in the national media that dented Rs 40 million to the taxpayers’ money and the management approved the promotion of 27 blue-eyed officials to the ranks of voice presidents even without intimating the federal minister.
The audit authorities informed the PAC that employees of Nespak travelled in business class and that should be stopped when the federal ministers travelled in economy class. The PAC chairman was surprised over monthly expenditure of the Nespak that reaches up to Rs 300 million and directed that the management should reduce its expenses.

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