Seeking accountability: Share district audit reports with PA, Rasheed demands

‘Shahbaz backed out of his promise to share reports for 2001 to 2014’

LAHORE:

Reports of audit of funds spent by the district governments between 2001 and 2014 should immediately be presented in the Punjab Assembly, Leader of Opposition in the PA Mehmoodur Rasheed demanded on Tuesday.

He was addressing a press conference at the Assembly cafeteria.

Rasheed said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was not letting the Assembly see the reports because they carried evidence of massive embezzlement of funds.



He claimed that the irregularities documented in the audit reports for the period amounted to Rs200 billion.

He said the chief minister had turned down requests by the Finance Department and the Auditor General for submission of reports to the Assembly.

Rasheed said the opposition parties would soon move a privilege motion in the Assembly secretariat seeking action against officials responsible for the delay.

He said on coming to power in the province, Shahbaz Sharif had announced that he would take indiscriminate action against officials found involved in corruption. He said that Sharif’s government had failed to live up to his promise. In fact, he said, most district government representatives involved in embezzlement of funds had ended up joining the PML-N.

In a letter sent to the chief minister on Tuesday, Rasheed reminded him of his assurance to then Governor Sardar Latif Khosa and then Auditor General of Pakistan Akhtar Buland Rana during a meeting in May 2012 that audit reports would be shared with the Assembly for its review.

The letter further said that audit reports for the period had been sent to the governor but were yet to be shared with the Assembly.

He said delay in sharing of the reports with the assembly was hindering accountability of district governments.

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