One-on-one: NAB Sindh DG exposes govt inadequacies

Billions of rupees worth of ghost schemes only available on paper , 85 percent of funds embezzled.

KARACHI:

There is no good governance in Sindh, claimed National Accountability Bureau (NAB) director-general Lt Col (retd) Sirajul Naeem, in an exclusive interview with Roznama Express.

Billions of rupees worth of ghost schemes are only available on paper, millions of rupees worth of government land has been occupied by the mafia, ‘hawks’ are eyeing the city’s coastal areas, four mega scandals, involving politicans are under investigation and a reference will be filed in the next few months, said Naeem. “The Sindh government is cooperating with us in the investigations,” he said.

During a recent visit of the province, Naeem admitted that he discovered there was no evidence of good governance in Sindh. In the past few years, the administrative infrastructure of the province has been badly damaged, development schemes on roads and schools are only limited to paper, he claimed.

He added that, in several development schemes, over 85 per cent of the fund ends up lining the pockets of some influential. “I asked the Sindh government to spend at least 90 per cent of the budget for these schemes on development itself,” he claimed, adding that the biggest challenge he faced in the province was establishing the writ of NAB.

NAB Sindh was working like many other government functionaries, he said, adding that several inquiries were victims of delays as government officers, despite being sent six to eight notices, had never bothered to respond. “I contact all the stakeholders in Sindh government and the chief secretary and we decided to appoint the additional deputy commissioner of each district as the focal person after which the situation improved considerably.”

Cases that had been stuck in limbo for over six years started showing progress, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2015.