The central administration of Pakistan Girl Guides Association is allegedly illegally pressurising the executive members of the Sindh Branch as it raised voice against the misappropriation of funds.
Mrs Moeena Hidayatullah with the connivance of Development Officer, who is also the contractor and carried out the uplift works at Hyderabad and Karachi, embezzled government funds, meant for the social welfare of girl students of the province, official sources told Business Recorder on Thursday.
Pakistan Girls Guides Association is imparting extra curricular training to female students of class I to XII in physical health (principles, rules, importance of iodine salts and basic immunisation programme), intelligence (to fill a money order form/read timetable/use of telephone directory, make a scrapbook on any topic collected from newspapers, collection of 20 different stamps or samples of natural things), domestic work (prepare a table/Dastarkhan properly, learn the correct cleanliness and decoration of the home and demonstrate by cleaning the classroom) outdoor activities (know about the traffic rules, signs and demonstrate them, participate in a day and a week camps and plant a tree and care for it for 3 months), arts and craft (make a small Pakistan flag and making useful things from scrap pieces), services (take a four days training in first aid, make a list of the steps you would take to find a lost child and distribute gifts among children on any festive day at home, neighbourhood, hospital or jail), character building (keep a diary of daily good deeds for a month, make arrangements in your school for drinking water for a month and make a useful item for a needy person or collect funds for an orphanage) and inter-personal communication (arrange an Eid Milan Party, arrange a Thinking Day function at a company level and visit another Girl Guide Company and write a report), they said.
In Sindh province, the education and literacy department grants funds for the provincial branch, while the culture and tourism department looks after its proper functioning, they said, adding that they seemed reluctant to interfere in the matter. The District Officers (Female Education) of all 23 districts work as commissioner, while the school selected teachers are the trainers, who get their training at the Headquarters of Girls Guide House, they said.
"Abdul Rasheed (representative of Tooba Construction Company), who is also the Development Officer of Girls Guide was granted the construction work of the Guide House in Karachi and Hyderabad by Mrs Hidayatullah, a 90 years old lady, which is against the rules and regulation of the association," they added.
The officials said the meeting of the association was held on January 15, 2009, attended by Mrs Suraya Memon, Deputy Provincial Commissioner, Mrs Shamim Awan, Training Commissioner, Mrs Farnaz Riyaz, DOE Elementary Karachi and members Ms Amina Hussain, Ms Dilnaz Bibi, Ms Sultana Rizwi, Mrs Azra Aslam and Ms Nighat Abbas had decided to cancel the post of Development Officer and ordered the contractor to replace the low quality material which he used..
The meeting urged the provincial commissioner to issue a two weeks notice for reimbursement of money and to be deposited in Guide's Fund. But the contractor did not comply with the order as the provincial commissioner was using the influence over whole staff.
The officials said the newly constructed building in Hyderabad had developed cracks due to use of substandard material, but the commissioner had granted repairing work to the same contractor with a cost of Rs 150,000 without consulting the executive committee.
Again, the provincial commissioner awarded the new contract for construction of training center and hostel in Karachi to the same contractor. According to the tender, the payment will be made in three instalments to contractor, but more than 90 percent payment was released in one month, they pointed out. "The association had written to the National Commissioner, Islamabad to conduct an inquiry against the misappropriation of funds, but the authorities dissolved the executive committee of Pakistan Girls Guides Association, Sindh Branch on February 04, 2009.
The letter issued from National Headquarter of Pakistan Girls Guide Association states, "In the light of current situation conveyed by association's Sindh branch, National Commissioner Mrs Farhana Azim has decided to dissolve the executive committee of Pakistan Girls Guides Association, Sindh Branch with immediate effect."
The national commissioner has asked the provincial commissioner to bring the names of new members for the formation of executive committee, they said. According to the Provincial Bye Law No 16, the sources said that the association could be dissolved by a discussion at a meeting of the provincial council specially convened for that purpose. No other person has authority to dissolve it.
Interestingly, the influential provincial commissioner has called an illegal meeting to select the members of the executive committee, nominated by the provincial commissioner, at Karachi Gymkhana on February 14, 2009.
Moreover, they said that the provincial commissioner had illegally spent Rs 962,632 on the maintenance of Guides House of Karachi and Hyderabad against the amount of Rs 120,000. The executive committee had sought a justification from the provincial commissioner, but she turned down their request.
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