PAC expresses ire over inefficient water project

Langove promises action against those experimenting with public money

QUETTA: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Balochistan Assembly expressed ire over the inefficiency of the Quetta Water Supply and Environmental Improvement Project (QWSEIP), which, it noted, has failed to provide water to even 10% population of the provincial capital.

The PAC meeting, chaired by Akhtar Hussain Langove, was auditing the QWSEIP, a project of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department for the year 2015-16.

Addressing the meeting, Langove said the Rs10.5 billion project was started in an attempt to provide water to Quetta, but it had failed to benefit even a 10% population of the provincial city.

"Water is the biggest problem of people. The public is suffering due to the shortage of water."

He said the project director of the QWSEIP was changed in a few months. Non-technical people were appointed as project director, which created misery for the people.

He ordered the department that a project director be inducted on merit and should not be removed until the project is completed unless there are serious allegations against him.

The PAC chairman also asked the department why it did not refer to consultants of the National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak) before starting the project. He also directed Nespak officials to appear before the PAC.

Nespak is a state-owned corporation that provides consulting, construction, and management services globally. It is one of the largest engineering consultant management companies in Africa and Asia.

Langove said: "After spending Rs9 billion, we have achieved nothing. All the relevant authorities and the department have wasted money.”

The chairman added: "We will, with the approval of the speaker [of the Balochistan Assembly], form a committee comprising all MPAs of Quetta who will oversee the QWSEIP project, and we will never stop pursuing this vital issue of water ".

He said the department had started the project for supplying water to Quetta but did not see the water sources. “Look at the extremes of incompetence that the project was started before spending money on network sources.”

The committee regretted that the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) refused to act on the agreements made with the PHE. It said the department did not initiate an inquiry against the FWO and did not impose penalties on it.  "This shows that the PHE is run by incompetent people now," Langove said.

He said the committee demands that the department investigate the matter and report it to the committee.

"According to the Geological Survey of Pakistan, the source that PHE is relying on for Quetta's water solution is extremely dangerous to the city. Instead of relying more on tube wells, we should solve the problem of water from other sources" he added.

"We will take action against those who have been experimenting with public money," he added.

Members provincial assembly (MPAs) Nasar Ullah Zarey, Malik Naseer Shawani, Zahoor Buledi, Balochistan Assembly Secretary Safdar Hussain, Secretary Committees Tahir Shah Kakar, PHE Secretary Saleh Baloch, P&D additional secretary, DG Audit attended the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2020.