A parliamentary panel Friday directed the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination to conduct an inquiry into the unauthorized expenditures worth Rs 59 million by Human Organ Transplant Authority (HOTA) and share the details with Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
These directives were passed by a subcommittee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which met under the chairpersonship of Member National Assembly (MNA) Shahida Akhtar Ali, while reviewing and discussing audit paras of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination of the year 2013-14.
Officials of the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) told the committee that the matter was unearthed during the audit of the HOTA from 2007-13 and was immediately brought into the notice of the Principal Accounting Officer (PAO).
The AGP officials said that in response to audit observation, the HOTA management replied that expenditures of Rs 59 million were approved by PAO and the FA's organization but the audit department did not accept the reply because it was against the section 17 of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues act 2010. The AGP had recommended that the financial rules should be got approved from the federal government.
Briefing the panel over the matter, the officials of HOTA said that PAC had earlier asked the department to conduct an inquiry into the matter and also tasked FIA to look into the matter to fix the responsibility on the official who violated the set rules and regulations which caused multimillion rupees losses to the department.
Member committee Riaz Fityana asked the HOTA and FIA officials about the finding of their inquiries but they failed to respond. Consequently, the committee member asked the chairperson to take stern action against the FIA as well as other officials ignoring the PAC directives.
The HOTA officials said that the relevant record of the matter was shared with FIA but the management was not aware of the present situation of the developments.
Responding to HOTA representative's comments, the FIA officials said that the record pertaining to the matter was never shared with the investigation agency. In response to the FIA official's reply, the HOTA representative shared documentary record with the panel.
After listening to HOTA, AGP and FIA officials' arguments, the committee directed all the relevant quarters to conduct an inquiry into the matter and take further action as per the directives of the PAC with fixing responsibility on the officials involved.
Discussing another audit para, the panel directed management of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad Electricity Supply Company (IESCO) and Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination to install sub-meters of electricity in PIMs housing colony.
The audit officials said that the AGP since 2004 has been pointing out that doctors and nurses residing in PIMS housing colony are allowed to use as much electricity as they can use on fixed tariff of Rs 1,000 per month, and as a result the people staying in the hostels are found not turning off air conditioners and other electricity equipments during their absence from the rooms. This indiscriminate use of electricity caused a financial loss of Rs 1.22 million to PIMS.
The panel directed the concerned officials to install separate meters to each house of the PIMS housing colony and hostel rooms of the PIMS within three months.
The panel also directed the PIMS administration and Capital Development Authority (CDA) to either remove mobile towers installed in the premises of PIMS or reassess the matter as per global set standards within a month.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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