Islamabad, Nov 15: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) identified audit issues totaling Rs. 599.93 million within the Establishment Division, pointing to irregularities concerning employees, non-recovery of funds, and the handling of accounts with commercial banks.
In the 2023-24 audit report for the federal government’s civil accounts, the AGP raised concerns about Rs. 8.66 million related to employee matters, Rs. 14.54 million regarding bank account management, Rs. 173 million on recoveries, Rs. 51.90 million on internal recoveries, and Rs. 351.73 million on other matters.
The report revealed that for the fiscal year 2022-23, the Establishment Division received an allocation of Rs. 6.580 billion but only spent Rs. 6.500 billion, resulting in savings of Rs. 80.37 million, primarily from the current grant.
The audit criticized the practice of obtaining supplementary grants without proper cash forecasting. It also noted discrepancies in the budget process, including a significant saving in the development grant and a small saving in the current grant, indicating poor financial planning.
The audit also raised concerns over Rs. 8.665 million spent on the salaries of 28 Contingent Paid Staff (CPS) in 2022-23.
This expenditure was deemed irregular as the Finance Division’s directive to hire regular staff was not followed, and temporary staff continued to be employed instead.
Further, the audit identified a failure to recover Rs. 12.379 million in outstanding rent from the Utility Stores Corporation.
The SWO properties, which were rented to the corporation in 1975, lacked a formal lease agreement.
According to the Islamabad Rent Restriction Ordinance, rents should have increased by 25% every three years, but the SWO failed to enforce this increase and neglected to formalize a lease agreement, resulting in unpaid rent over several years.
