'KPEC saves Rs 581 million under good governance initiative'

Director General (DG) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (KPEC), Sajjad Khan has said that the commission has saved an amount of Rs 581 million under the good governance initiative and through timely intervention in different departments and projects in the province. This he told during a briefing to the Advisor to Chief Minister on Information and Higher education Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, who visited the office of Ehtesab Commission in Hayatabad, Peshawar.
The interventions worth mentioning include Mardan Medical Plaza where Rs 300 million were saved, Rs 40 million and Rs 2.6 million were saved in Darmalak Dam in Kohat, Rs 100 million in the Peshawar Text Book Board, Rs 66.3 million in the department of Mines and Minerals and Rs 42.7 million in the Malakand C&W department.
The Director General further clarified that in addition to saving millions of rupees, the timely interventions have ensured greater revenue generation on yearly basis in different departments of the province. Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani on the occasion said that the present government intends to root out corruption and corrupt practices from the province in order to ensure better services delivery to the public.
The Director Investigations Sardar Ali Khan informed that in a short span of 16 months, the Ehtesab Commission has registered 24 financial corruption references in the court that are worth Rs 3.19 billion and involve 74 people. Mushtaq Ghani stated that many convicts prefer the National Accountability Bureau due to the option of plea bargaining and this way many of them escape from true accountability. However, Sardar Ali Khan clarified that the KP Ehtesab Commission Act does not have any option of voluntary return or plea bargaining and aims to get the accused punished from the courts.
While briefing Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani on the case against MPA Ziaullah Afridi, the officials clarified that he has been released on bail and there are 4 cases against him in which he is still under trial. Similarly, ex Minister for Excise and Taxation, Liaquat Shabab and ex Vice Chancellor of Islamia College University are also under trial in the courts for embezzlement of public funds.