R&D fund transfers managed by Ignite National Technology Fund Management under the Ministry of IT and Telecom (MoITT) have been in a pathetic situation due to serious financial irregularities as noted by the Auditor General Pakistan. The audit report indicates the transfer of funds of Rs. 9,152 million to the Finance Division on the two occasions of year 2013 and 2023.
As per the findings, 4152 million rupees was transferred in 2013 to clear the circular dues being held in the R&D Fund and despite the lapse of time, this money remains to be recouped. A further Rs. 5,000 million was granted in December 2023 by resolution of the 40 th R&D Fund Policy Committee meeting. Although the same was assured to be recovered by the end of the 4 th quarter of FY 2023-24, no recovery has been made.
The report pointed out that the transactions violated Section 33D (2) of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act of 1996, as well as the R&D Fund Rules, 2006, which precondition the use of the fund in ICT research and innovation only. Previous audits also highlighted this misuse of funds in 2014-15, when an amount of Rs. 6,760.742 million revealed irregularities and labelled a concern over its lack of transparency and governance.
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Ignite explained the R&D Fund is under the supervision of the Ministry of IT, and the transfers were made after the instructions of the federal government. The Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) has ordered Ignite to recover the amount with the proper audit verification. The defense given by the management based on the cabinet and committee decisions was described as untenable by auditors.
The fact that these problems recur once again makes it evident that there is an urgent need to establish more oversight in the transfer of R&D funds in order to protect ICT development.
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