The Lahore High Court on Monday directed the public sector companies to file their replies by January 15 when four companies filed their replies rejecting the charges of corruption levelled in the petitions questioning their legal status also.
Punjab Health Initiative Management Company, Punjab Skilled Development Company, Punjab Engineering Consultancy Services and Urban Sector Planning and Management Services filed the written replies. The replies said that the companies had been duly established under Companies Ordinance 1984.
These companies had been following all corporate compliance and governance procedures and requirements under the statutory provisions of the Companies Act, 2017 and Public Sector Companies (Corporate Governance) Rules 2013 including statutory audit. They maintained that the Auditor General of Pakistan had also been conducting audit of the companies. Urging the court to dismiss the petitions, the companies said the petitioners sought imaginary indictments without an iota of evidence to substantiate any of their assertions.
Azhar Siddique and Sheraz Zaka advocates appeared on behalf of the petitioners. The petitioners had pleaded that Rs 150 billion had been spent by the provincial government for the public companies established on the pretext of good governance. They alleged that government's expedition faced a huge setback as all public sector companies failed to deliver. They claimed that audit of the accounts of these companies had not been carried out except one for performance audit by Auditor General of Pakistan.
They said the companies had not shared their expense details with Punjab finance department and Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). They pleaded that public money was being wasted on these companies. They asked the court to declare the establishment of the sector companies illegal and order an inquiry into the alleged corruption.
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