ISLAMABAD: Expressing dismal on current structure of Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Opposition Leader in national Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah recommended changes in the PAC to make it effective and vibrant.
“The present PAC is just an eye wash. We need to make drastic changes in its structure and relevant laws,” he said in the House presenting the reports of the Committee for years 1998-99, 2003-04, 2007-08 and report of the PAC on Monitoring and Implementation for year 1996-97.
“If we desire that this committee functions effectively, we shall have to change laws and make it independent. Otherwise, it will remain an eye wash,” he said as he mentioned Rs 119 billion recovery by the PAC.
“But, this recovery is of no use when its legal structure is so poor that even today we are taking up 18 to 19 years old audit para,” Shah said who is also Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.
In such cases, he said, out of the officials who had committed follies or corruption around 60 percent have expired, 30 percent retired and remaining ten percent are at the verge of retirement.
He said PAC is an important committee and it is very rare that its reports are discussed in the House. “Even nobody might be knowing what was written in the reports presented to this House in past years.”
He appreciated the efforts of the members of the Committee and staff of PAC and said this report had to be presented six to eight months earlier. But, it was delayed due to attitude of previous Auditor General who was himself involved in misappropriation and contested the matter in courts, he claimed.
The PAC Chairman said perhaps the Committee is not functioning in a manner for which it had been constituted. “It is an important committee but its related laws and powers had to be re-visited.”
He also mentioned that cases worth Rs 450 billion were pending with the courts and this was recoverable amount of Pakistani nation. “Therefore, I think what we need to do at PAC, we are not doing so it needs to be reframed after massive changes in respective laws.”
