A fact-finding committee, constituted by the Punjab Chief Secretary to probe a major financial scandal involving the embezzlement of Rs1.94 billion in public funds and alleged negligence and carelessness by the authorities holding financial signatory powers at the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), has officially launched its investigation.
During its first meeting held in Lahore, the committee raised several concerns regarding RDA's flawed financial management system, demanding complete records of the RDA's bank accounts and the transfer of funds through Call Deposit Receipts (CDRs) to other banks.
The next meeting is expected to be held on June 19, during which all Directors of Administration and Finance from the past nine years have been summoned. The decision regarding summoning former Director Generals will be made later.
The matter is already under investigation by two separate forums: the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), Rawalpindi Region. Simultaneously, the fact-finding committee formed by the Punjab Chief Secretary convened at the office of Mudassar Waheed Malik, Member Taxes, Board of Revenue Punjab, who is also the convener of the inquiry. Other members present included Moazzam Iqbal Supra, MD of the Punjab Government Servants Housing Foundation, and Madiha Tahir Shah, Additional Secretary A&H.
From the RDA, Director-General Kinza Murtaza, Deputy Director Iftikhar Janjua, and Assistant Director Waqar Asghar Raja appeared before the committee.
Ex-DD' death sparks concern
The committee also reviewed the recent mysterious death — possibly a suicide or murder — of Junaid Taj Bhatti, the former Deputy Director Finance of RDA and former DG of PHA Sialkot. Bhatti died under suspicious circumstances in his Sialkot office on May 13. His death has added further complexity to the scandal.
The fact-finding meeting lasted about an hour. The issues raised and the requested records will be thoroughly examined in the upcoming session scheduled for Thursday, June 19, in Lahore.
Systemic oversight, audit failures
This is considered the biggest financial scandal in RDA's history, spanning nearly a decade. Despite the fact that RDA accounts were audited regularly each year, the massive embezzlement went unnoticed.
Shockingly, none of the authorised financial officers, including Director Generals and Directors of Administration and Finance, ever requested or reviewed the bank statements to track fund transfersan act that could have exposed the issue much earlier and led to the establishment of a more secure financial system.
During this period, the Divisional Commissioners of Rawalpindi also served as acting DGs of RDA, including the current Secretary Housing Punjab. Several officers from the DMG groupsome of whom are now retired or serving in other high-ranking positionsalso held the RDA DG post during this time.
Contractors' payments suspended
Contractors and their families faced hardships during the Eidul Azha holidays as no payments were made for the past month or so.
Routine operations at the RDA have been severely disrupted following the exposure of a financial scandal in government funds about a month ago. Since the scandal emerged, all payments to contractors have been suspended.
When contacted through the RDA spokesperson, Director General Kinza Murtaza said that payments would be made to the contractors soon. However, no explanation was provided as to why payments had been delayed so far or why the contractors had been left in distress.
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