Irregularities in appointments: NAB swoops down upon Sindh University

Bureau’s Sindh chief speaks at KU about menace of corruption, calls it a global phenomenon

HYDERABAD/KARACHI:

Alleged irregularities in the appointments and budget utilisation at Sindh University, Jamshoro, have come under the radar of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

A NAB team spent its second day on Thursday in the SU’s administrative wing skimming through hundreds of files, probing the record of appointments, land, development budget and other matters. In a first, NAB sealed SU’s Jamshoro-based CNG station. The station was established to supply fuel for the varsity’s transportation but it was handed over for commercial operation to a private contractor.



The probe is being carried out on the complaint of two representatives of Sindh University Employees Welfare Association, Ghulam Nabi Bhalai and Ghulam Rasool Chandio. They filed the case, reportedly containing over 800 pages of documents, with NAB in March 2013 and accused the former vice-chancellor Dr Nazir A Mughal of being involved.



Bhalai and Chandio were also called to record their statements during the on-going inquiry. “We have provided 400 appointment letters issued during Mughal’s stint to NAB,” Chandio told The Express Tribune, claiming that the set procedures for filling the vacancies were violated in many instances.

According to Bhalai, NAB is also investigating the alleged withdrawal of the SU’s authorities from the ownership of land. He maintained that around 21,000 acres were earmarked for the university but, in connivance with the encroachment mafia, the varsity now claims ownership of only half of that land.

Several development schemes and procurement expenditures are also part of the complaint and are reportedly being probed by NAB, which will continue the investigation for third consecutive day today (April 1). The SU officials, especially those who were part of VC Mughal’s team, are also being questioned.



NAB DG addresses seminar at KU

Meanwhile, NAB Sindh director-general Colonel (retd) Sirajul Naeem addressed on Thursday a seminar on ‘Awareness and Prevention against Corruption’ at Karachi University in which he confirmed that there are no corruption cases or inquiries going on against KU.

Speaking at the event, Naeem pointed out that less than one per cent of Pakistanis pay their taxes. Calling corruption a global phenomenon, Naeem also mentioned a report of the World Economic Forum and said that $2.6 trillion dollars are wasted in corruption globally. He further said that Pakistan was ranked 117th in the list of most corrupt countries in the year, 2015, while it was ranked 126th in 2014.

According to Naeem, Pakistan bears a loss of $133 million daily due to corruption. Talking about the efforts of NAB, he said that the bureau is working very hard to rid the society of corrupt individuals. He mentioned how NAB helped the Sindh government recover 0.3 acres of land in 56 villages of Thatta district.

Speaking on the occasion, KU vice-chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Qaiser said that corruption is a global issue and needs to be eliminated. He advised the youth to aim for a corruption-free society as, according to him, the key posts of the government will be taken up by young officers and the future of the country is dependent on them. He added that such programmes, which provide awareness to the youth about corrupt practices, must be held regularly.



The dean of the faculty of management and administrative sciences, Prof Khalid Iraqi, said that he believes that the youth can bravely fight the corrupt elements in society. He stressed that corruption must be eliminated from the top to bottom at all levels and that we also require personal accountability. Iraqi shared that the reason why corruption has prevailed in society is because of the support of the politicians as well as incompetent officers in the administration of various departments.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st,  2016.