Audit report: AGP detects financial irregularities in PSB

Sport board illegally executed four development projects

ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has detected financial irregularities worth millions of rupees in the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).

In its audit, the AGP has said that the PSB director-general (DG) approved four development projects at the Pakistan Sports Complex worth Rs112 million during the financial year 2012-13, despite lacking the authority to do so.

The projects included repair and renovation of a swimming pool, provision of air conditioning at Rodham Hall, provision of an external service network, and other work.

The AGP observed that technical sanctions of the works were granted by the DG, which he lacks the authority to do. In response, the board claimed that detailed estimates of the projects were prepared by the PSB quality engineer in consultation with other experts who were engaged in the preparation of estimates, as well as for supervision of work during the execution of the projects.

“Under the PSB constitution, the DG is the chief executive and administrative head of the board. Therefore, technical sanctions were granted by him,” said the PSB reply.

The AGP, however, said that the DG is only vested with administrative and financial powers and not technical authority, which remains the domain of qualified engineers from the Pakistan Public Works Department. The AGP recommended that responsibility be fixed for awarding works without obtaining technical sanctions of estimates from authorised officers.

Similarly, the AGP also declared the payment of Rs16.4 million as honorarium to PSB employees an illegal act.  According to the AGP report, Rs5.08 million was paid as honorarium on Eidul Fitr, Rs5.49 million was paid on Eidul Azha, Rs194,000 was paid on Christmas,  Rs199,600 was paid on Easter, Rs92,000 was paid for ‘excellent performance’, and Rs 5.34 million was paid at the close of the financial year.

The report observed that the amounts were paid without following merit and recommended that the irregular payments should be recovered and the practice should be discontinued.

PSB DG Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera is in Thailand for an official event and was unavailable for comment. PSB Administration Deputy Director Chaudhry Salamat Ali would not comment on the report findings, saying that he was not authorised to discuss development projects with the media.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2014.