CM's Inspection Team shows minimal performance

With numerous other investigation agencies working simultaneously, the workload of the unit has decreased considerably

LAHORE:

As the Punjab government completes one year in office, the performance of all the departments has come under scrutiny. However, nothing could be revealed regarding the performance of the Chief Minister's Inspection Team, which critics believe is nothing more than another white elephant.

Since the past 21 years, the Chief Minister's Inspection Team (CMIT) has been functional in Punjab. Comprising seven members along with a chairman and a secretary, the work of the team has been organized by allocating districts and divisions to different members. Each member of the team conducts monthly inspections regularly on the Chief Minister's directives. The CMIT has a staff of 110 officers and employees, resulting in an annual expenditure of Rs180 million on salaries and petrol.

According to the information received by the Express Tribune, the CMIT has steadily faced a reduction in its workload over the years since the anti-corruption department and other institutions are also investigating their own matters. Hence, the number of inquiries under investigation has decreased from 600 during the era of Pervez Musharraf to an average of 150 per year in the current tenure.

According to Salman Abid, a public policy advisor, the Chief Minister's Inspection Team has been used politically in every era. “This office is just a mini stop of service for Pakistan's administrative officers. When they get a good posting chance in the field, they leave the team. Hence, the team is a burden on the exchequer and is acting as a white elephant. While anti-corruption works on the source report, the Chief Minister's Inspection Team works on the Chief Minister's directive,” noted Abid.

As per the Chief Minister's Inspection Team Office, there are four types of complaints processed by the CMIT. The first type comes as the Chief Minister's directive, the second comes from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the third comes from the Facilitation and Accountability Cell while the fourth is a general complaint.

Reportedly, a former member of the Chief Minister's Inspection Team and former President Provincial Management Service Rai Manzoor Hussain Nasir, had suggested to the Punjab government last year that the office of the CMIT should be shifted to GOR-1 near the CM's office. The move was expected to activate the office of the CMIT, but this did not happen. Furthermore, six chairmen of the CMIT have been changed in the last two years, out of which four were changed only last year.

Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, opined that the inspection team was used as political revenge. “Petrol worth millions of rupees is wasted by officials in the name of inspection. The government should close all institutions that are a burden on the treasury and use this money for the welfare of the people,” said Bhachar.

The spokesman of the Punjab government refuted the claims that the CMIT was not performing well. “The Chief Minister issues directives for inspections and inquiries about various departments on a daily basis. This is yielding encouraging results. The team is also reviewing complaints from various departments,” claimed the spokesman.

The correspondent tried contacting the Chairman of the CMIT Salman Ijaz several times to inquire about the performance of the team, but he failed to respond.