ISLAMABAD, Oct 23 (APP): The office of the Auditor General of
Pakistan (AGP) has said there is no inordinate delay in finalizing
special audit report on circular debt of Rs 480 billion and clarified
the audit department will not compromise on the facts under any
pressure.
A statement issued by the AGP has clarified the facts
about special audit of Rs 480 billion Circular Debt and mentioned to
some quarters of media who had quoted the draft special audit
report on the issue.
The media in the report has created an impression that the audit
report was being delayed deliberately and audit paras were being settled
to give a clean chit to the government.
The department of the Auditor General in the statement made it
clear that being an independent constitutional institution, “we
conduct audit objectively in the light of international auditing
standards without being a party. We are just interested in bringing
out the facts as available in the record, after due diligence”.
The statement further said that it was an international
standard that every audit report should be finalized only after
giving a chance to the audited organizations as well as the
Principal Accounting Officer concerned to give their viewpoint.
“Before inclusion of the response from the audited
organization, an audit report remains a draft and cannot be issued
to any quarter and this is the case with the special audit report on
Rs 480 billion circular debt”, the AGP statement said.
It added that in the case of circular debt, the then Auditor
General had first ordered special audit in July 2013.
The statement further said that the Director General Audit
WAPDA had submitted the first draft report in December 2013.
The Auditor General was not satisfied with the findings of the
report and directed the DG WAPDA Audit to resubmit a new report
about the transparency, regularity and mode of payment of Rs 480
billion, the AGP statement added.
The statement further said that the DG WAPDA Audit submitted
a revised report, but again it was not found satisfactory despite various
reviews at the headquarters level.
Subsequently the DG Audit WAPDA was directed by the Auditor
General in December 2014 to carry hundred percent audit of the transaction of Rs 480 billion, it added. But, even this 100% audit could not be completed during the tenure of the then Auditor General and the draft
report was submitted in July, 2015.
After detailed review at the head office, the DG Audit WAPDA
was directed to hold DAC meeting with the Secretary Water and Power,
who is the Principal Accounting Officer, the statement said. The DAC
meeting was held in the Committee Room of Ministry of Water and Power on October 7, 2015 in which 42 audit paras were discussed in total and only
two paras involving Rs 11.732 million were settled on the basis of record
produced by the management.
Moreover, another two paras were deleted from the report as these had
already been printed in earlier years’ audit reports. Minutes of the DAC meeting, duly signed by the Principal Accounting Officer and DG Audit WAPDA will be submitted to the head office shortly.
The Auditor General will review minutes of the DAC meeting and
approve the report after quality assurance exercise by senior officers of the Department, the AGP statement added.
“From the above facts, it is clear that neither there has been any
inordinate delay in finalizing the special audit report on circular
debt nor audit will compromise on the facts under any pressure”, the statement concluded.
Pakistan's National News Agency
