BISP management pockets Rs975m: Audit report

Duplicate payments to poor from funds received under ADB loan and govt.

LAHORE: A sum of Rs974.585 million has been misappropriated by the management of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) on the pretext of distribution among the deserving, an audit report available with The Express Tribune revealed.

The programme management had obtained this amount from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as a loan to support the poor families under Foreign Aided Project (FAP) of the BISP, the report said.

However, the BISP drew the same amount of Rs9745.585 million for the same purpose from the government of Pakistan, the report issued by the office of the Auditor General Pakistan stated.

The BISP beneficiaries got their instalment paid once, but the amount was drawn twice – once from ADB and once from the government kitty.

BISP, on January 12, 2012, paid Rs4.143 billion to various commercial banks on estimation basis for onward distribution to 1,381,208 beneficiaries.

Audit observed that Rs2.05 billion was paid to 683,235 beneficiaries whose Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) were without an updated thumb impression and those who did not possess a CNIC.

During the verification of record on March 7, 2013 reconciliation statement from the Accountant General Pakistan Revenue (AGPR) was not provided.

When the BISP management did provide the account reconciliations report, the figures did not match up.

Figuring out the figures

The audit report said that on March 8, 2013 the BISP management provided reconciliation statement of the AGPR for June 2012 and the draft appropriation account for the financial year 2011-12.

The reconciliation statement reflected expenditure of Rs48.4 billion whereas the appropriation accounts showed Rs46.38 billion. To top it off the expenditure statement provided by BISP in compliance of directives from the audit authority reflected government expenditure of Rs48.67 billion for the FY 2011-12.

The figures of expenditure reported in the three statements, AGPR reconciliation, appropriation accounts and government expenditures for FY 2011-12, do not reconcile with each other, the audit report said.

Audit holds that expenditure incurred under ADB loan was not reconciled with the AGPR and details of BISP expenditure.

Audit recommends that a detailed reconciliation of all sources of funds be carried out with the AGPR and provided to audit for review.

More double payments

Audit observed that payments of Rs6,867 million to 3,622,376 beneficiaries were already paid for the same period of instalment from government funds as per soft data provided for government expenditure during compliance with authority audit.

Audit noted that duplicate payments were made to 3,622,376 beneficiaries for the same period of instalment who were previously paid through government funds.

Audit was not provided the disbursement data of the remaining 1,843,860 beneficiaries involving Rs5.34 billion.

Audit noted that due to non-production of record the authenticity of the expenditure incurred could not be ascertained.

It said that complete and accurate data based on actual payments was not provided.

Audit recommended that responsibility should be fixed for hindering the audit functions of the Auditor General of Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2013.