PESHAWAR: The Audit Report 2017-18 has revealed massive irregularities up to 23 billion rupees in 17 different departments of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
According to the report, most of the departments involved in corruption had embezzled money up to 170 million rupees. More than Rs4 billion could not be recovered, while record of another Rs4 billion is missing in the audit report. Weak economic system inflicted damage worth Rs10 billion to the public exchequer, it said.
The departments that witnessed graft activities include education, health, communication, energy, agriculture, administrative affairs and irrigation. Unnecessary use of government vehicles inflicted a loss worth more than Rs10 million.
Also Read: Entire nation will have to participate in ‘Jihad’ against corruption: PM Imran
The Auditor General of Pakistan has declared buying of coal worth Rs1.8 million for the office of secretary administration suspicious. “Purchasing of coal in presence of electric and gas heaters in the office is shady,” said the auditor adding that there was no place in the office where coal could be burnt.
The Audit Report has raised objection that no answer was received to the questions asked on this matter, until filing of this report. It said the department had given a check of Rs1,899,929 to Zewa Enterprises company for coal.
In second week of December 2019, Special Assistant on Accountability Shahzad Akbar had said Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment had recovered government land worth 129 billion rupees in one year.
Replying to PML-N leader Maryam Aurangzeb’s questions in a news conference in Islamabad, he had said Asset Recovery Unit had spent 23 million rupees so far on its administrative expenditures, including the salaries of staff.
“Those that have ruled the country for 35 years have been indulged in corruption and illegal practices, now that they are being held accountable there is tremendous hue and cry,” Akbar had said.
The Special Assistant had said NAB had also recovered money under plea-bargain law.
