PAC directs ministries, depts to hold accounting body meetings regularly

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee on Thursday directed all the federal ministries, divisions and departments to hold the departmental Accounting Committee meetings regularly and the report of those departments, which avoid holding the DACs, should be submitted to the committee.

The meeting of PAC was held with the chair of its Chairman Rana Tanveer Hussain in which the audit paras relating to the Ministry of Housing and Works for the year 2019-20 were examined.

The PAC also directed the Ministry of Housing and Works to give preference to repair of low category houses instead of the high grade bureaucrats. The PAC directed the Ministry of Housing and Works for an inquiry against the award of contracts for projects without taking approval of the concerned authority at the forum of Departmental Accounting Committee and the report of DAC should be submitted to the committee.

The Audit officials of the department of the Auditor General of Pakistan pointed out irregularities of over Rs 3 billion in five audit paras of the Ministry of Housing and Works.

Examining the audit para related to irregularities of over Rs1,105 billion, the audit officials told the committee that the Pak PWD had awarded the contracts for 18 different projects for construction of buildings and roads to contractors without getting bank guarantees and performance security. The audit officials told the committee that the performance bonds accepted instead of bank guarantees, in four cases out of 18 cases. Chairman PAC Rana Tanveer Hussain remarked that such kind of lapses should be avoided.