The Sindh government has been asked to stop the ongoing audit of local government administration immediately, it is reliably learnt. According to sources, the Auditor General of Pakistan had recently written a letter to the Finance Department directing it to stop the ongoing audit of taluka, town and union council administration for the fiscal year 2008-09.
The notification SRO(1)2009 sent to the Sindh government read : "In exercise of powers conferred by Section (9) of Section 115 of Sindh Local Government Ordinance (SLGO), 2001 (XXVII of 2001), the Auditor General of Pakistan is pleased to direct that the local fund audit department, including the Director General Local Fund audit, shall stop the audit of taluka, town and union administration for the fiscal year 2008-09 and for subsequent years henceforth and with immediate effect. The Auditor General shall audit such accounts".
Usually, they said the local fund audit of local finance wing carries out the audit of the financial matters of the local governments and points out the embezzlement of funds. There has been reports that the officials of local fund audit do not complete the assignment and get themselves involved in the misappropriation of huge funds, they added.
After the orders of the Auditor General of Pakistan, the sources said that the audit of local government administration, which was under way, had been stopped. Now, the Auditor General would conduct the audit of current fiscal year and of the subsequent years to improve the performance of local bodies institutions, they said.