March 15, 2013 . 0

Transparency International (TI) has released a report saying that the Metro Bus project was completed at a cost of Rs 29.078 billion, and there were also two contracts worth Rs 1.2018 billion annually for bus supply, and operation and security. According to the report, released on Wednesday, the contracts were awarded in a transparent manner and on the basis of competitive bidding, as per the Punjab Procurement Rules 2009. One of the features of the report is its swiftness. The MoU between the Punjab government and TI was signed on February 28, with TI agreeing to report before the next election. It has done so, and with the help of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Contract Evaluation Forms, which it used to evaluate the 27 contracts awarded under this project, as well as the details of the 25 infrastructure projects accompanying it. As this was one of the main projects the PML-N intended to use in its coming election campaign, it was important that the report be available before the election. As it is, the report has come out even before the dissolution of the present assemblies.

The Shahbaz government’s political opponents had two basic points to make about the Metro Bus: it was expensive, and it was corrupt. Now that the cost has been verified by a third party, both supporters and opponents should proceed from the same figure. Then there is supposed corruption. Both allegations will probably now be hurled in the heat of the election campaign, but the PML-N will be able to answer with the report. There now remain two more schemes on which TI has signed MoUs with the Ujala Scheme, under which deserving students get solar-power kits, and the Laptop Scheme, also for students. Reports on their probity are also awaited, and as the allegations and defences on precisely these schemes are expected to be of significance in the coming election campaign, the TI report on them would be a great help to the electorate in making an informed choice.

While political parties will always criticise whatever the government does, such third-party reports limit that criticism to the utility of the project being discussed. For the debate to be meaningful, it must now shift to whether the Metro Bus service has achieved its goals. The debate on embezzlement cannot continue without questioning the Transparency’s honesty or competence.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-ne...y-on-metro-bus