Milking the exchequer: AGP catches 18 senior bureaucrats illegally availing Rs7.6mn

By Shahbaz Rana: September 24, 2013

In a shocking revelation, the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has informed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that 18 top bureaucrats of the country, including top management of the finance ministry, illegally availed budget honorariums amounting to Rs7.6 million in 2011-12.
These grade 21 and 22 officers, according to the latest audit report on the affairs of the finance ministry, availed honorariums of up to seven basic salaries in the financial year 2011-12.
In 1996, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet had decided that a budget honorarium will be given to officers of Federal Board of Revenue, Planning and Development Division and Ministry of Finance. The ECC had allowed honorarium only up to the level of grade 20 officers.
According to the AGP office, in 2011-12 the ministry of finance had paid Rs120.1 million in honorarium, of which Rs7.6 million was paid to the officers of basic pay scale 21 and above, against the directives of the ECC.
Further irregularities unearthed by the AGP office showed that all honorariums were paid without deduction of income tax. Apart from this, the two officers who availed this honorarium were not on the strength of the finance ministry either.
Given these revelations of serious financial misdemeanour, the AGP has recommended immediate recovery of tax payers’ money from senior bureaucrats and recommended that responsibility should also be fixed against those who sanctioned the honorariums.
The disclosure that the top economic managers of the country, who are entrusted to ensure prudent financial management, are themselves involved in financial impropriety has raised many questions, including whether these officers should be allowed to serve in these important posts.
Prominent bureaucrats who availed budget honorariums include incumbent secretary finance Dr Waqar Masood, additional secretary finance (now OSD) Abdul Khaliq, additional secretary finance (now serving member Federal Board of Revenue) Aftab Anwar Baloch, senior joint secretary finance now secretary ministry of parliamentary affairs) Manzoor Ali Khan, economic advisor Ministry of Finance, Ejaz Wasti, additional secretary finance (now serving secretary ministry of national food security and research) Seerat Asghar, additional secretary finance (now additional secretary ministry of petroleum) Arshad Mirza, and additional secretary finance (now Managing Director Public Procurement Regulatory Authority) Nazrat Bashir.
The two officers who were not serving on the strength of the ministry but availed honorariums nonetheless include Farah Ayub Tarin, Accountant General of Pakistan Revenue and Raja Hassan Abbas, additional secretary of Establishment Division.
In its written response to the AGP office, the finance ministry has taken the position that the ECC had approved honorarium of more than one basic pay to all officers of Finance Division, Planning and Development Division and Revenue Division.
It has further maintained that the honorarium paid to the officers of grade 21 and above had the approval of the finance minister in his capacity as chairman ECC.
The AGP has rejected the ministry’s reply and maintained that it was in violation of the ECC decision.

The Express Tribune