Greater transparency: NAB must set its own house in order, says watchdog chief

Says lack of awareness reason behind procurement irregularities.

PESHAWAR: Instead of others pointing out loopholes in the public procurement system, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) should itself keep a vigilant eye to avoid any undue loss to the national exchequer, said Director General of NAB’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chapter Shahzad Saleem on Thursday.

Addressing a one-day workshop on Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Procurement of Goods, Works and Services Rules, 2014 at the bureau’s provincial office, Saleem said NAB’s job was not just to arrest accused persons, but also educate them about avoiding misappropriation.

Speaking in the presence of senior officers and officials of the provincial government departments dealing with procurement, Saleem said it was a matter of great concern that “outsiders” were pointing out shortcomings and loopholes in the procurement process. “This is our country, our motherland; we must be the initiators to put our house in order instead of waiting for others,” he was quoted as saying in a handout released by the corruption watchdog.

Giving credit to the K-P government for establishing the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and notifying the K-P Goods, Works and Services Rules, 2014, he hoped that if implemented in letter and spirit the regulations would help bring greater transparency.

He added various complaints have been received with regards to violation of procurement rules, claiming there was a need to arrange a workshop to educate officers on the proper procedures. Saleem said it was observed that most procurement rules were violated due to lack of proper knowledge and expertise.

The bureau’s director general also shared with participants of the workshop instances of malpractice by authorities. These included incurring expenditure at the end of a financial year, thus violating rules on the pretext of urgency.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2014.