Audit, accounts service: Plan to divide operations under consideration

Move may lead to disputes over seniority, posting and promotion.

LAHORE: Despite facing fierce opposition from the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) and the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the federal government is considering dividing the Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service (PAAS) into two separate occupational groups.

The government wants to put CGA under the administrative control of the Finance Division in proposed amendments to dent the constitutional authority of AGP, a senior official of PAAS said.

“Splitting PAAS would trigger seniority disputes, posting/promotion and overlapping of functions,” he said.

The federal government constituted a committee, headed by Mohsin S Haqqani, Additional Secretary Establishment Division (ED), to conduct a brainstorming session on this issue for the functional separation of AGP and CGA.

The committee recommended that PAAS may be divided into two distinct services namely Audit Service of Pakistan (ASP) and Accounts Service (AS), according to documents.

The committee further recommended to the prime minister that an irrevocable choice should be sought from the existing officers of PAAS by the office of AGP whether they want to join AS or ASP.

Before dividing PAAS into two occupational services, the issue of departmental promotions for their induction and promotion into two distinct services should be decided first in the light of the Federal Service Tribunal judgment of January 26, 2015.

This exercise was the result of the unending tug of war between AGP Akhtar Buland Rana and the Ministry of Finance, PAAS officials said.

They observed that the current move was aimed at depriving the AGP of the constitutional oversight and mandate under Articles 169-171 of the Constitution to prescribe principles, methods and form for maintaining accounts of the federation and provinces.

The case against AGP

The AGP locked horns with the federal government by filing a reference with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), accusing the present finance minister and other officials of the ministry of having paid over Rs500 billion to the independent power producers (IPPs).

According to the AGP, they paid out of the Federal Consolidated Fund without the mandatory pre-audit checks of the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenue (AGPR) – a subordinate office of CGA.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th, 2015.

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