AGP unveils over Rs1,100 billion in financial irregularities across federal ministries

• AGP report highlights ministry-wise mismanagement, including Rs68 billion in unauthorised payments to KPT employees, Rs689 billion in recovery cases

The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP), in its audit report for the fiscal year 2023–24, has flagged serious financial irregularities and mismanagement across several federal ministries and divisions, totaling more than Rs1,100 billion, The News reported.  

One of the most concerning findings in the report was the import of 3.59 million tons of wheat, despite the availability of surplus domestic stocks. This decision led to an estimated loss of over Rs300 billion and resulted in market oversupply and significant economic difficulties for local farmers. 

The report also highlights several other instances of financial mismanagement, including unauthorised expenditures by ministries, excessive allowances paid to Karachi Port Trust employees, and procurement irregularities within the Civil Armed Forces.

Additionally, the AGP’s audit found that regulatory authorities misused public funds by making unauthorized salary and allowance payments to officials of the Private Educational Institutes Regulatory Authority. 

It also identified financial mismanagement within the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), with improper payments and irregular contracts, leading to recommendations for the recovery of misused funds. There were also cases of illegal occupation of public land belonging to entities like the Evacuee Trust Property Board and Karachi Port Trust, indicating poor asset management practices.

Other significant issues flagged in the audit include instances of tax evasion due to non-deduction of taxes on various payments, which resulted in revenue losses for the government. The report also documented five cases of embezzlement and fictitious payments amounting to Rs1.69 billion, along with 107 recovery cases totaling Rs689.48 billion, which were recommended for corrective action. Additionally, 39 instances of weak internal controls involving Rs160.39 billion were identified.

The AGP has issued several key recommendations to address these issues, including ensuring that no government expenditure is made without prior parliamentary approval, conducting proper assessments before issuing supplementary grants, and forwarding embezzlement cases to investigative agencies. 

The report also stressed the need to strengthen internal controls and audits across government departments and urged that all records be made available to auditors without delay. Furthermore, the AGP recommended maintaining a proper fixed assets register with annual physical verification.

A government spokesperson responded to these findings, explaining that these audit reports will be discussed in the Departmental Accounts Committees (DAC), chaired by the Principal Accounting Officer (PAO). Many of the observations will be settled at the DAC level before being presented to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).