Corruption is becoming a major problem for the country. People who had high hopes on the democratically elected government in 2008 find themselves disappointed as the perception about corruption has increased a lot amongst the people who think the present rulers are plundering and wasting the already challenged meagre resources of the poor nation..
ISLAMABAD: This is a tale of corruption amounting to Rs823 billion which spreads from the corridors of power to the streets and mohallahs of Pakistan, with officials tasked to protect national resources often themselves involved in loot and plunder.
Whether it is electricity theft by means of the kunda (hook) system in Karachi or non-payment of electricity bills in Fata, the unverified proof through documents shows irregularities of Rs90 billion for Wapda alone.
The 2010-11 report of the Auditor General of Pakistan had been submitted in the last session of the National Assembly and presents an astonishing scenario of plundering. Luxury vehicles of Rs290 million were bought as soon as the Neelam-Jhelum Hydro project started. The 15 projects of the rental power producers were approved to meet the demand of electricity from which 2,700MW power would come to the national grid; only 62MW power was given to the system till 2010. The case is pending in the Supreme Court. Importantly, the government had paid Rs16.6 billion as advance in this deal.
It is the common impression that minimum financial irregularities are found in the Foreign Ministry. But the Auditor General report dispelled this impression. Corruption of Rs700 million was pointed out in the Foreign Ministry in 2009-10 while frauds worth Rs5.1 billion are also found in the defence budget. The task of purchasing bullet-proof jackets was given to the FWO and fraud of over Rs420 million was committed in this contract.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was formed to check corruption but ironically, the Auditor General has indicated corruption of millions of rupees in the NAB itself. Rs290 million had been spent pursuing foreign cases of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto with zero results. Million of dollars and pound starlings were paid to legal firms in foreign countries with no records of how much money was paid. There are seven institutions working at the federal level to eliminate corruption in Pakistan. Among them the Public Accounts Committee is the biggest institution to carry out parliamentary accountability. The Auditor General of Pakistan, Federal Ombudsman and Federal Tax Ombudsman are the constitutional institution. Besides them the Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission and FIA and anti-corruption institutions in the provinces are also working in this regard. In spite of these the menace of corruption is not being controlled.
The present government, after coming into power, formed a special committee in November 2009 led by the then Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen. The committee was directed to present a report within 4-week. The report has been lying in the prime minister office for two years waiting for the PM’s order. It was stated in the report that some big crocodiles are involved in corruption and transferring money of the country abroad. No action was ever taken.
The Supreme Court and the government are well aware of information that 300 important politicians and bureaucrats got themselves purified by getting a pardon from Rs165 billion corruption money, illegal use of power and embezzlement cases under NRO. These politicians and bureaucrats are the part of that list of over 5,700 persons that the Law Ministry sent to the Prime Minister Gilani after receiving them from all four provinces.
The fact cannot be denied that before the issuance of NRO on behalf of former President Pervez Musharraf in 2007, 2121 cases of corruption were under trial in the courts. While NAB had issued arrest warrant of 368 persons, with the withdrawal of these arrest warrants investigation against 394 politicians and bureaucrats was stopped and NAB rendered powerless.
Billions of dollars have been embezzled during recent years in the gas and oil sector. In SNGPL, Rs20 billion were issued for the erection of a 14,000-kilometre gas pipeline. The line was never completed while Rs 561 million was paid as profit to Ogra.
Likewise, Sandek Mettles was issued Rs73 million as advance to start work but nothing was done. In 1995 an American company was awarded contract for the excavation of oil and gas and more than $ 2.2 million were spent; nothing came of this. This case was reportedly sent to NAB but no documents regarding it can be found in the record of the NAB.
In 1994 the OGDC awarded contract to an Australian company with $17 million as advance but OGDC later cancelled the contract and the company only returned $6 million while $11 million was embezzled. The evidence of this corruption has also vanished from NAB record.
It is worth mentioning here that because of financial corruption the circular debt of companies related to the petroleum sector has reached Rs344 billion, which includes Rs160 billion of PSO. On the other hand recovery of Rs40 billion from the mobile telephone companies is also pending.
According to records, in the last 8 years the losses of SNGPL Company has risen from 3.5 billion rupees to 15 billion rupees while during this period equal to Rs 62 billion gas was misappropriated.
In another case of corruption the NHA got Rs1 billion from the government for the construction of Torkhum-Jalalabad road but the project could not take off. On the other hand during the Musharraf government Rs220 millions were spent to erect a fountain in the sea in Karachi while the original cost of the fountain was not more than Rs150 to 160 million. The said fountain was stolen later.
In the health sector investigation in embezzlements of millions of rupees is pending as after the 18th amendment the health sector has been devolved to the provinces. In the Poly Clinic Hospital of Islamabad more than Rs34 million were misappropriated in the purchase of medicines.
In the PAC reports presented in the Parliament some 5499 cases of financial corruption were mentioned. The land mafia in Islamabad embezzles 20000-acres of land worth Rs100 billion. The land mafia has also misappropriated 4231 acres of land of the Railways.
Action was taken against three retired general involved in the Rs4 billion corruption in the NLC Scandal. The case is now with the GHQ.
On the interference of Transparency International, a Rs100 billion deal between the EOBI and NHA for the construction of Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway was stopped. The corruption of Rs850 million in the Pakistan Post is also on record. The PASCO too has also used Rs420 million allocated for the storage of wheat for the purchase of 6 residential plots.
Corruption cases were unearthed in some armed forces’ departments also. The AGP audit report of 2010-11 also reveals Rs28 billion rupees deficit in PIA.