PAC told: information ministry received over Rs 2 billion against Rs 568 million allocation

The Auditor General of Pakistan Wednesday informed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting received over Rs 2 billion against its actual budget allocation of Rs 568 million in 2015-16. The PAC met here under the chairmanship of Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah to discuss the audit reports of 2015-16 of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as well as its supplementary grants.
While expressing serious concern over threefold increase in supplementary grants for the Information Ministry, the committee members asked the secretary information to give reasons as to why such huge increase in budget was required. Replying to the committee's query, Secretary Information Ahmad Nawaz Suhkhera said that the supplementary grant was approved regarding payment for advertisements in electronic media.
Sukhera said that the ministry was making all-out efforts for controlling supplementary grants, adding that as per electronic media rules ,the departments have to clear advertisement dues within three months but the Ministry of Information will take almost 10 months in clearing advertisement bills.
Member committee Arif Alvi asked the secretary information why the ministry needed such an amount on emergency basis as well as why the ministry was paying 20 percent additional bills to electronic media as compared to print media. The secretary said that all the advertisements rates are approved from competent authorities and with different structures, adding that the provincial governments of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are paying even higher rates to electronic media.
The committee directed the officials to present the record of past 10-year budgets of Information Ministry as well as supplementary grants. Azam Swati asked the secretary information, "Was a secret cell operating from Prime Minister Office getting fund from the Ministry of Information?" Alvi also asked the secretary, "Was the former chairman Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) fulfilling basic criteria set for the slot of PEMRA chairman?"
Responding to his question, the secretary said that the appointment was made prior to his appointment as secretary information; however, there is no doubt that the former PEMRA chairman had rich media experience. Responding to a question of Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, the secretary information said that there is no secret fund in the ministry.
The secretary said that the ministry is likely to launch Pakistan Television Parliament to give exclusive coverage to the parliamentary matters. The news channel will cover the National Assembly, the Senate of Pakistan as well as standing committees' proceedings, he added. Audit officials said that the Information Ministry issued Rs 245 million advertisements in violation of set rules and regulations. Audit officials further said that the ministry has no mechanism to monitor whether or not the TV channels broadcast the advertisement.
The chairman committee constituted a subcommittee under the chairmanship of Shafqat Mahmood to review the PTV matters, with directives to present report before the main committee within 15 days on all the irregularities and other PTV matters. The panel was informed that the Radio Pakistan management in violation of rules and regulations awarded contract of bringing advertisement for the national broadcaster to a private firm at Rs 90 million but the company failed to fulfill the conditionality as a result Radio Pakistan suffered Rs 10 million financial losses.
The audit officials said that despite the fact the private firm failed to bring Rs 90 million advertisements, the authorities extended the agreement for another two years.