Illegal use of official rest houses: PAC warns of action

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Wednesday warned of taking strict action against illegal utilisation of the rooms of official rest houses and decided to collect market rate based rent from the officers booking rooms for a period of more than one week.
The decision was taken in a meeting of the committee held in the conference room of the Assembly Secretariat. The committee held two sessions. First was chaired by Speaker, Kiramatullah Khan while the second was presided by Abdul Akbar Khan MPA.
The members of the provincial assembly, Saqibullah Khan Chamkanim, Mohammad Zamin Khan advocate, Mukhtiar Ali Khan advocate, Syed Mohammad Ali Shahh Bacha, Fazal Shakoor Khan and Malik Tehmash Khan were also present.
The committee held detailed discussion on different audit objections during the year 2008-09 regarding department of administration and took several important decisions in this regard. The committee also urged the officers utilising accommodation in rest houses to refrain from inflicting losses on government treasury. The committee strictly directed the department of administration for purchasing vehicles through open tenders.
The committee expressed anger over the matter of the occupation of rooms in the government's rest houses for months and years in the name of booking by the concerned officials. The act, they said inflict heavy loss to public exchequer, adding that this attitude also creates severe difficulties in accommodation for other officers.
Expressing strong anger the committee said that some officials book room usually and then it remain under their occupation for a long period. The committee after detailed debate decided in principles that in case of booking of room in public sector rest house for a period of more than one week, the rent of the additional days will be charged in proportion to the market rate of the city concerned.
The committee further decided in principles that in case of the use of the room by others than the official concerned, the rent will be recovered in proportion to the market rate. However, the committee urged the department of administration for discouraging the tradition of long stay in the rest houses and initiate action in this regard by itself. The committee strictly directed the department of administration for purchasing vehicles through open tenders.
The committee for conducting comprehensive investigation handed over the matters of the helicopter scandal and allotment of official vehicles to unauthorised persons to the sub-committee of Public Accounts Committee.
Earlier, addressing the inaugural session, Speaker, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Kiramatullah Khan who is also chairman of the PAC said that the internal audit of the public sector institutions is very weak and ineffective. He said that majority of the audit objections are made due to the unavailability of the record concerned.
He made it clear that in future stern action would be taken on such matters and the officers concerned would face strict action. He urged the administrative secretaries for refraining from unnecessary defence of their departments as the correction of the system was the collective responsibility of all. The committee appreciated the preparation of the working paper of the department of administration and urged other departments to follow it.