Parliament urged to give permanent status to PAC

The speakers at PINA Seminar on the Role of Audit in Financial Discipline held in Lahore on Monday called upon the parliament to give permanent status to Public Accounts Committee as that of the speaker and it should have an independent secretariat with necessary legal and financial powers.
It was appreciated that PAC performed with high standard for the first time and parliament took interest in debating its reports and got recovered in billions from functionaries committing financial irregulations. The participants welcomed the disclosure that bills in the office of Accountant General Punjab are being cleared in a day or two and the budget of the province is scientifically monitored.
Speaking on the occasion Accountant General Punjab Jamil Bhatti has said that in civilised societies, the Auditor General's Department is the best system of Accountability in respect of Government Departments. In Pakistan, the Audit of Government Departments is a part of the Constitution of Pakistan. Now The Auditor General's Report goes to the Parliament for debate.
He further added that for the first time in Pakistan's history, the Public Accounts Committee has presented its Report to the Parliament that is based on the examination of the Auditor General's Reports of 1989-90, 1991-92 and 2005-06.
The seminar was chaired by Brigadier Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry (Retd), and attended by intellectuals, retired military and government officers and members of the media/civil society. In his opening remarks Altaf Hasan Qureshee introduced Jamil Bhatti who has a rich background and experience in Audit and Accounts Department of Government of Pakistan. He has served on many senior appointments including DG Railways, DG Public Works and worked closely with Public Accounts Committee.
Jamil Bhatti has the distinction of being a Master Trainer in the specialised field of Performance Audit, Financial Reforms etc. He has represented Pakistan in international forums including World Bank, and Asian Development Bank. The participants through a resolution endorsed the reforms suggested by Jamil Bhatti and demanded that PAC should be given a permanent place as of the speaker with required legal and financial powers.
Jamil Bhatti informed that the functions of Audit and Accounts were separated in 2001 because there was a conflict of interest, since those who were managing the Accounts were also auditing the same. Now there is a separate Controller General of Accounts other than the Auditor General. Since this change is in line with the best international practice, the credibility of the Auditor General's department has improved in the eyes of the world. Furthermore, the Auditor General Department is now fully computerised which has resulted in more efficiency and output.
He said that there are almost 26 organisations of Accountability in the country including police, FIA, NAB, Customs, civil courts, Services Tribunals, Federal/provincial inspection Teams, provincial anti corruption agencies etc. Hence Pakistan is a heavily 'accountable' country where detailed Laws to prevent financial ill discipline are available and only need to be implemented.
The Auditor General Department has detected many mega scams in government organisations that are generally related to misuse of authority, financial mismanagement, embezzlement etc. One major example is the housing scam involving non-payment of rent etc by occupants of around 3,500 houses that were occupied since 1947. The matter is now under investigation. He said that the Public Accounts Committee is one of the select Committees of the Parliament. It scrutinises the Auditor General's Report, There are also the Appropriations Accounts Committee and the Finance and Revenue Committee, which carries out the analysis of Government Spending. Strangely none of the parliamentarians have ever read such analysis/reports. The PAC has worked hard in last two years and recovered almost 45 billion rupees.