PPRA not consulted on import of LNG: MD

Public Procurement Regulatory Authority was not consulted by the government on import of LNG from Qatar and the authority's management also showed least interest in the matter. Managing Director PPRA Nazrat Bashir said this on Wednesday during a briefing to the members of Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat. Chairman of the committee Senator Muhammad Talha Mehmood said that the PPRA is an important institution and it should play its role in keeping the LNG import transparent, besides keeping an eye on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
"The PPRA must ensure that all deals both national and international are made in a transparent way, as billions of rupees of taxpayers are being spent on these projects," he said. Bashir said that his organisation has received some 74,000 complaints of irregularities and embezzlement and all of them have been referred to National Accountability Bureau and Federal Investigation Agency for probes into matters. "We don't have legal powers to initiate probes into alleged mismanagement and irregularities," he said.
Chairman committee scolded Managing Director Baitul Maal for spending over 38 percent of the total budget of two billion rupees under different heads of the organisation. "Baitul Maal should be shut down if it cannot provide relief to needy patients and other deserving persons," he said. The committee members have sought details of all expenditures made by the Baitulmal management, especially the amount given to the needy and deserving persons.
Secretary Aviation Division Imran Gardezi informed the committee members that 85 percent of the work on New Islamabad Airport has been completed and it would be operational by the end of next year. Expansion and renovation work of Benazir Bhutto International Airport is complete while the prime minister has also inaugurated work on Multan Airport, he said.
Senator Muhammad Yousaf Badini, however, staged a walkout from the meeting in protest against inordinate delay of flights from Quetta International Airport. He said that neither passengers are given air tickets on time nor do the flights observe the announced schedule while empty aircrafts keep travelling between Islamabad and Quetta.
Talking about K-Electric, Senator Shahi Syed said that some political parties were also involved in theft of electricity in the metropolitan and a cogent policy needs to be devised to cope with the problem. Managing Director National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, Tariq Khattak informed the committee members that the government has given a relief of up to Rs 58 billion till July to all electricity consumers. He also said that the government has not renewed a contract of 650 megawatts electricity with the K-Electric. Some questions raised by Senator Saeed Ghani about Civil Aviation Authority, Airport Security Force and Pakistan International Airline have been deferred till next meeting of the committee.