Audit flags financial irregularities worth billions in southern Punjab

Financial irregularities worth billions have been exposed in southern Punjab's local government institutions, according to the Auditor General of Pakistan's audit report for 2022-23, which was made public on Saturday.

The audit, covering 128 local government institutions across the region, identified widespread issues including missing financial records, procedural violations and pension-related irregularities.

The most significant finding related to records worth Rs12.87 billion that were not produced for audit in 53 cases. Procedural irregularities amounting to Rs9.14 billion were identified in 368 cases, while other financial issues totalling Rs101.42 billion were flagged in 472 cases.

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The report also documented fraud and misappropriation amounting to Rs14.2 million in three cases, along with pension-related irregularities involving Rs95.8 million in another three cases.

A major concern highlighted in the audit was the absence of effective internal controls. The report found that districts in southern Punjab lacked functioning internal audit departments, with mismanagement and negligence cited as key contributors to the financial lapses.

Although audit teams reported recoveries exceeding Rs7.1 billion, only Rs114.5 million of the recovered amount could be verified, according to the report.

The audit report issued a series of directives to Principal Accounting Officers (PAOs) to address the identified irregularities. These include producing missing records, taking action against officials responsible for their non-production, and conducting inquiries to fix responsibility for fraud, misappropriation and wasteful expenditure.

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PAOs have been instructed to expedite recovery of government receipts and investigate cases of unauthorised use of administrative and financial powers. The report emphasises strict adherence to Punjab Procurement Rules for all purchases of goods and services.

To prevent future irregularities, local governments must establish effective internal control systems and ensure proper monitoring mechanisms are in place. The report also mandates submission of life certificates for pensioners and no remarriage certificates for family pension cases.