NAB identifies discrepancies in procurement of laptops under PM's scheme

Private company allegedly chose to evade import duties by providing locally manufactured laptops

KARACHI: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday identified a major irregularities in the Prime Minister Laptop Scheme (PMLS) run under the supervision of Higher Education Commission (HEC).

Reports suggested that a Pakistani computing company violated its contract with the HEC by procuring locally manufactured laptops against the specifications agreed in the tender.

As per the agreement, the company was required to provide imported laptops for the second phase of the scheme.

The HEC purchased 200,000 laptops at a stated cost of $90 million, however, the private company opted to evade import duties by providing locally manufactured laptops.

Taking note of its findings, the anti-graft watchdog is set to launch an inquiry into the case by initiating a reference against those involved.

According to the HEC, the laptops dispensed under phase 2 followed all rules and were in compliance with the tender.

HEC Chairman Mukhtar Ahmed said that the scandal is purely propaganda to create a controversy around him to oust him from his post.

The inquiry is titled as a ‘non-duty paid 200,000 laptops’ by NAB, with a full-fledged investigation to be launched against the education commission after approval from authorities.



“The HEC has contracted serious violations of Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (Pepra) rules by unlawful purchases of laptops,” he added.

NAB has alleged the private vendor did not abide by the conditions stated in the contract with the HEC.

As per the agreement, one-third of the 200,000 laptops had to be completely imported while the remaining laptops (to be assembled locally) were to have at least two-thirds of their components imported.

NAB has accused the vendor of not importing even a single laptop in a complete knocked down state leading to a huge revenue loss to the national treasury.

Moreover, the anti-graft watchdog found no record related to post-shipment inspection of the laptops and payments made to the private vendor under the pre-agreed PRAL mode.

“The HEC has shown sheer negligence by paying the vendor against the agreed terms and conditions,” NAB accused in the summary sent for approval.

Laptop prices have considerably declined over the time, NAB said in its revelations against the HEC, which had been giving a fixed price for the laptop during the past four years.

As per the contract, the total cost of the computers was $98.5 million including taxes and $77.5 million without taxes, warranting a thorough investigation for $22 million of revenue losses to the FBR.

The Transparency International Pakistan through its letter had already raised an objection over the purchase of laptops in the phase 2.

The HEC chairman said that they introduced a company that would manufacture laptops locally so that it could benefit the country. “We have not lost anything but have actually gained in the scheme,” Ahmed added.

"The agreement nowhere has any element which could affirm that it was necessary to import the laptops and there is an independent monitoring committee, which oversees the matters," he said.

"Following the objections by the Transparency International, we purchased costlier laptops," the HEC chairman asserted, adding that he had no knowledge of the NAB investigations.



However, he affirmed that the information taken was part of NAB’s operating procedures as the purchase of laptops amounted to millions.

“I am being punished for closing down university programmes that were short of HEC standards,” said Ahmed, adding that the HEC distributed over 400,000 laptops in the second phase for which two separate contracts were given.

The first contract was given in 2015 in which 150,000 laptops from local vendors were manufactured while 50,000 laptops were imported.

The commitment was duly fulfilled while 200,000 laptops of the same phase were manufactured last year at local level bearing the “Made in Pakistan” tag.