Hotel given 15 years to pay off its lease

PAC told ToRs were changed before second bidding

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee expressed dismay on Wednesday after it was told that the time limit granted to Grand Hyatt Hotel to pay off its lease was extended from 120 days to 15 years.

“This is the fourth briefing [on the issue] but the PAC has been misled once again,” said Committee Chairman Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah as the Capital Development Authority [CDA] failed to produce documents before the committee.

PML-N’s Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said that it was the fourth time CDA was misleading the committee and demanded that the chairman take punitive action against the officials responsible for wasting the committee’s time.

DG Estate Islam Shah informed the committee about the bidding process for the 13.4 acre land adjacent to Jinnah Convention Centre. However, it transpired that the name of the land was changed by the allottee, on his own accord, to ‘one convention centre’.

The committee noticed that despite being in the fourth briefing the panel was never provided with the ToRs or the bidding documents.

“CDA is making a fool out of the PAC,” observed Junaid Chaudhry.

Chairman directed CDA officials to submit the relevant material in the next meeting.

EOBI

During the discussion on EOBI, authorities told the committee that Zafar Gondal had made agreements which had inflicted losses to the institution.

They told the committee that pension was being disbursed through the National Bank and in order to make the process hassle free ATM services were also being launched, for which discussions were under way with Bank Al-Falah.

Secretary Overseas Pakistanis Khizar Hayat Khan said that EOBI was looted in broad daylight and it should not be taken as corruption.

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