PAC slams Sindh Energy Board for buying vehicle

‘Jeep bought to monitor activities in rough terrain’.

KARACHI: The Public Accounts Committee of the Sindh Assembly on Monday took strong exception to the purchase of an SUV costing Rs3.6 million by the Sindh Coal and Energy Board in 2006 without having any budgetary provision.

Director General Audit Ghulam Akbar Soho termed the purchase an irregular expenditure as the vehicle was acquired without approval from the competent authority.

PAC member Ghulam Mujadid Isran said that the fact that it was a luxury vehicle raises doubts that it was intended for personal use.

The secretary of the board Younus Dhaga while defending the purchase said the vehicle was purchased after approval from the Sindh Chief Minister to monitor development activities in rough terrain areas of Thar coal.

DG audit said that without the approval of the finance department, nothing can be purchased.

The meeting discussed audit paras for the financial years 2006 to 2008 with Jam Tamachi Unar in the chair. Briefing the media, PAC chairman said that total eight paras were discussed, of which only one para was settled. He said that around Rs8.6 million was financially mismanaged by the officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2011.