Orakzai political admin blames C&W department, which in turn passes the buck to contractors. PHOTO: FILE
Soon after inspecting a newly-constructed building, Orakzai Agency Additional Political Agent Naeem Anwar ordered a high-level inquiry, alleging misappropriation of millions of rupees.
The building, which includes a sub-jail, a Levies hostel, five bungalows and two quarters for the political administration, has been constructed with substandard building material, according to Anwar.
He said upon inspection, he discovered the jail’s roof, constructed at a cost of Rs23.7 million, was leaking whereas the kitchen was left incomplete and only two out of three water tanks were installed on the roof. Moreover, Anwar said the pipes and electricity wires used were also of poor quality, adding the check-posts built inside the premises have crumbled owing to low quality construction.
Anwar said the contracts and tenders for the project were floated by the Communication and Works (C&W) department to private contractors and blamed both parties for being involved in the embezzlement.
The political administration official estimated the embezzlement at Rs43 million and said the inquiry committee would be able to come up with the accurate amount. “Most probably it will even exceed this figure,” he said.
Orakzai Agency C&W Executive Engineer Qayyum Khan, while talking to journalists, said: “We have also ordered a probe, apart from the political administration’s inquiry, which will be initiated in a week.” Those found guilty will be punished appropriately, he added.
Khan said they would ensure that all the faults are fixed by the contractors. “They will not get away with this,” he added.
Citing his recent appointment to the post, the head of civil works absolved himself from the incident, claiming the incident occurred before his posting. He said he would do his best to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.
A C&W official, requesting anonymity, said most of the contracts in the tribal areas were not awarded by the department, but rather by the political administration. “C&W just floats the tenders after which the political administration officials nominate tribesmen for the contract.”
The official said the contracts for the construction of bungalows and residential quarters were awarded to Liaquat Ali and Khayal Mehmood Mehsud, while the sub-jail contract was given to Khwaja Muhammad and Shoaib Khan. Moreover, he alleged Shoaib was an official of the political administration and had thus violated government rules which state a government employee cannot be awarded a government contract.
One of the contractors, Ali, said he had done an honest job and welcomed the inquiry, adding he would face the consequences if found guilty. Despite several attempts, the other contractors refused to comment on the issue.
Ali further said the portions constructed by him could have deteriorated rapidly owing to rain or other natural causes and denied using substandard material in a bid to pocket money. However, he said “While we’re at it, let’s initiate an inquiry into the working of the entire political administration so the whole system can be fixed”.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2013.
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