NAB initiates inquiry against 56 companies in Punjab

Chairman says all legal formalities should be completed before taking action

ISLAMABAD: Kicking off its drive against corruption, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has initiated inquiry into multiple charges against 56 public limited companies established by the Punjab government.

“All legal formalities should be completed first, including collection of sufficient evidence without hampering routine work of these companies, before taking [any] action,” NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal was quoted as directing the director general of the bureau’s Lahore branch in a statement issued on Saturday.

The NAB chairman issued these orders after receiving multiple public complaints of alleged corruption, irregularities, waste of public resources, absence of transparency in tendering various projects and regular audits, favoritism in appointments and inordinate delay in completion of different projects.

In October, the Lahore High Court (LHC) admitted a petition filed by a citizen against these companies, levelling similar allegations. Lately, LHC Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah issued notices to the heads of the 56 companies seeking detailed reports from them.

The court had also sought reports from the federal and provincial governments as well as the NAB.

 



After surfacing of allegations of large-scale irregularities, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, instead of asking Federal Investigation Agency or NAB to investigate the matter, authorised an internal inquiry.

Some of the prominent companies included Punjab Saaf Pani Company, Punjab Agriculture and Meat Company, Lahore Transport Company, Lahore Waste Management Company, Lahore Parking Company, Multan Cattle Market Management Company, Punjab Livestock and Dairy Development Board, and waste management companies in various cities across the province.

Majority of the waste management contracts of the said companies have been awarded to Turkish firms, but the record of their contracts was missing, according to the petitioner, who challenged the matter before the LHC.

It is alleged that there exists no report on financial and performance audit of these companies, not even with the Punjab finance minister. The heads of these companies were not appointed through advertisement, but on pick and choose basis while other staffers were also recruited in a similar fashion.

These companies signed several contracts with private firms and that too in an ambiguous manner and by bypassing competition rules, according to the petitioner.