The Auditor-General of Pakistan (AGP) has unearthed irregularities worth of Rs 356.710 million in the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) due to irregular appointment of a consultant, illegal allotment of industrial/commercial plots to the officials and their family members, non-recovery of decreed amount and non-crediting of bank drafts in the banks.
Due to illegal appointment of a consultant for revision of PQA Act 1973, the authority suffered a loss worth Rs 1.550 million. The PQA appointed a barrister as consultant on April, 08 2007 for revision of PQA Act 1973 and drafting rules and regulation at a fixed professional fee of Rs 1.5 million with the term of 50 percent advance payment of consultant.
Subsequently, her contract, amount was enhanced to Rs 2.6 million on August 6, 2008, but she did not provide any consultancy service despite receiving an advance payment of Rs 1.550 million in November 2008. The AGP, in its audit report on the accounts of Public Sector Enterprises Audit year 2008-09, observed that due to illegal allotment of industrial /commercial plots to the its officials and their family members, the PQA suffered a loss of Rs 190.389 million.
As per Para-10 (iii) of GFR Vol-1 "standards of financial property," no authority should exercise its powers of sanctioning expenditure to pass or order, which will be directly to his own benefit. In PQA, the management allotted costly industrial/commercial plots worth Rs 190.389 million to its officials and their family members, which reflect misuse of power and availing of undue benefit for self and family at the cost of organisation's interest.
The officers of PQA earned Rs 190,389, 824 by acquiring industrial and commercial plots at nominal rates by selling/retaining the plots at market price at the cost of authority in an irregular way, which was a clear loss to the authority. Thus the management extended her (consultant) undue favour at the cost of the authority's funds, which was a loss to the organisation. The matter was reported to the management on June 3, 2009, but no reply was received.
It further reports that due to non-recovery of decreed amount, the PQA suffered a loss of Rs 1.118 million. The PQA, succeeded to get a decree on September 5, 2006 in a suit regarding recovery of PQA dues, amounting to Rs 274,184 from Gokal Shipping Company, in respect of port dues, but the management failed to execute the appeal in the court of law immediately after the judgement to recover the port dues along with the amount of interest and court expenses.
The execution appeal was required to be filed in the court of law immediately after the judgement to recover the port dues along with the amount of interest and court expenses. The matter was reported to the management on June 3, 2009 but no reply was received as yet.
The report further states that the authority faced a loss of Rs 163.653 million due to non-crediting of bank draft in the bank since 2004. The PQA deposited Rs 163.653 million in various banks received from different parties on account of allotment of plots, but the banks did not credit the amount into PQA's accounts since 2004 till to date.
The PQA management neither reconciled the deposit of amount with the banks, nor cancelled the allotment of plots to various parties, thus the authority sustained a loss of Rs 163.653 million. The matter was reported to the management on June 3, 2009, but no reply was received.
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