Thursday, September 23, 2010

CORRUPTION IN PAKISTAN

Meals served to parliamentarians and journalists covering the National Assembly during the 2009-10 budget session cost Rs11.57 million to the national exchequer.
A budget session normally runs for 15 to 20 days and it has been a practice that the government serves meals during the session to parliamentarians and reporters covering the proceedings.
This time around, however, during the 2010-11 budget session journalists refused to avail the official luxury to avoid being pointed out as part of this practice.
In the audit report for the 2009-10 tabled in the senate on Tuesday the office of auditor general of Pakistan objected that funds spent for this purpose by the finance division were not allocated for such luxuries.
Moreover the AGP office also objected that the concerned authorities did not obtain competitive bidding as required in the Public Procurement Rules, framed in 2004 before giving the contract to a particular food outlet. In their response the concerned department stated that the practice was started four years ago on the directives of then finance minister. AGP remained dissatisfied with the reply and sent the audit paragraph to the Public Accounts Committee for further probe.
The audit report also pointed out another glaring irregularity whereby six luxurious bulletproof vehicles were used by non-government functionaries for more than two years and that their maintenance and repair was carried out from tax-payers’ money.
In its audit for the accounts of the cabinet division, it was pointed out that prime minister’s secretariat in a letter dated May 26, 2008 issued an order for returning 33 bulletproof vehicles held by the prime minister’s secretariat. However, these vehicles were not physically handed over to the cabinet division.
Six out of these 33 bulletproof vehicles, had been in the use of non-governmental functionaries for more than two years, the AGP said, adding that the use of these vehicles was open misuse at the public’s expense. However, the audit report did not mention the names of the persons who were allocated these vehicles.
In their response the cabinet division stated that the prime minister had allocated the bulletproof vehicles and thus no separate rules were required to regulate the use of such. It further said that the vehicles were provided to high level dignitaries in view of the law and order situation. The AGP office was once again not satisfied with their response and decided to send the para to the PAC for further probing.
The audit report for the year 2009-10, in which eight per cent of the accounts of a government department, on average, come under random audit, pointed out irregularities worth Rs2.5 billion in the accounts departments coming under the domain of the ministry of defence and the ministry of defence production.
The audit report said that they carried out an audit of 167 out of 3,579 formations under the Defence Division and 25 out of the 44 productions and procurement agencies of the Defence Production division on what the report called the “test basis” during July to October 2009.
The defence division, under the ministry of defence, administers matters relating to the army, navy, air force, ministry of engineering services, inter services organisations, military lands, cantonments and federal government educational institutions.
The defence production division under the ministry of defence production deals with production, procurement, research and development related matters of the defence sector.
The report said that a total of 454 “serious observations” were issued by the AGP office to principal accounting officers of concerned departments coming under these ministries. Out of these 428 were discussed in the departmental accounts committee (DAC) meetings while both ministries failed to hold DAC meetings on the rest of the observations despite repeated request by the AGP office.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2010.

CORRUPTION IN PAKISTAN



Politicians amongst top tax dodgers


They have assets worth billions, yet they only pay a few thousand in taxes, if even that much.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Punjab Chief Minister Shabaz Sharif, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Chief Minister Amir Haider Hoti, Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, Jamiat Ulema Islam – Fazal chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Interior Minister Rehman Malik are some of those who did not pay a single penny in income tax in the period between 2004 and 2007.

The Express Tribune obtained the tax details of some of the country’s elected representatives from the Election Commission following a recent report saying that the assets of parliamentarians have registered a three-fold increase in six years.

According to the law, contesting candidates have to list the details of their tax returns for the last three years in the nomination papers.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s nomination papers show that while his assets are worth millions of rupees, he did not pay any income tax from 2004 to 2007.

The reason for this given by his spokesperson is that he spent most of the period in jail and thus did not pay income tax. Since becoming the prime minister, though, he has paid Rs82,000 annually, which is deducted from his salary.


Sharif, too, with declared assets in and outside Pakistan worth billions of rupees, did not pay anything to the national exchequer during the same period.

His party’s excuse is that he was in exile during that time. However, it did not share how much income tax he is paying as chief minister Punjab.Asfandyar Wali and Fazlur Rehman also did not pay any tax during the period between 2004 and 2007.  Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, who also has declared assets amounting to billions of rupees, paid Rs8,000 in income tax in the three-year period and Rs10,000 as land revenue for the same period.

Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani paid Rs16,000 as income tax and Rs0.6 million as land revenue during the period in question.

Leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali, and former Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi, who both have assets worth billions of rupees, paid only Rs0.2 million in  income tax between 2004 and 2007.

And Rehman Malik, while he did not pay any income tax, paid a measly Rs194 as land revenue in the three years.
The Express Tribune sent requests to the country’s main political leaders, including President Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, 
seeking details of their tax returns. However, none except Gilani responded. 


Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that the president is not bound under the law to declare his assets and tax details. The Federal Bureau of Revenue refused to give details either, saying it was not allowed to make public the tax returns of any citizen, including politicians.


Economist and former commerce minister Dr Zubair Khan said that an independent commission should scrutinise the assets and tax details of the country’s rulers. “It is astonishing to see these figures,” he said. “Our rulers have no right to ask people for tax since they don’t pay any.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2010.