Financial property of MoFA: PAC panel highlights serious lapses

Business Recorder

2 days ago

ISLAMABAD: A sub-committee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday highlighted serious lapses in financial propriety by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, leading to a loss of Rs566.43 million due to the obtaining of uneconomical health insurance policies for Pakistan Missions in the United States.
The PAC's sub-committee presided over by MNA Syed Naveed Qamar took up the audit report of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) for the year 2012-13, terming the disbursement was incurred in sheer violation of the General Financial Rules (GFR) and Public Procurement Rules (PPR) 2004.
Sub-committee convener Naveed Qamar said that Pakistani Foreign Missions abroad should not consider public funds as 'spoils of war' and directed the MoFA make efforts to stop wastage of public money.
The audit report observed that the insurance policies were procured at knowingly higher rates, circumventing mandatory advertising on the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) website and without proper competitive bidding.
The report noted a glaring variation in the rates of health insurance among the missions in New York and Washington, raising serious queries about transparency and due diligence in procurement practices. These actions contravened set rules and procedures for public officers to exercise the same prudence, as they would with their own finances.
In response to the audit observations raised in December 2013, the ministry stated that the policies were procured following a cost-benefit analysis and with approval from competent authorities. However, Auditor General of Pakistan (AGPR) rejected the explanation, stressing for a thorough verification of the claims.
A Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) held on February 3, 2014, directed the ministry to provide copies of the three insurance policies adopted by the missions in UN New York, Consulate General New York, and Washington. The committee has also directed the ministry concerned to seek clarification from the Ministry of National Health Services (NHRS) on the upper age limit for dependent children eligible for health insurance for officials posted abroad.
The AGPR has recommended that the MoFA present its case before the PAC to address the financial irregularities and provide justification for the substantial loss to the public exchequer.
The sub-committee also observed that foreign missions abroad involved in committing serious irregularity by lapsing public funds. The committee instructed that officials involved in irregularity and misconduct must be held accountable.
The committee lambasted at the MoFA for not taking audit paras seriously in DAC and PAC.
Naveed Qamar observed ambassadors are utilising community welfare funds as charity for personal gains with impunity. The committee; however, pended majority of audit paras due to ill-preparedness of MoFA officials.
Audit reports on the accounts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Audit Years 2011-12, 2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 were examined in sub-committee of PAC.
The directives were to examine and analyse the use of huge public funds involved in the hiring of private buildings for Pakistani Missions abroad despite the fact that in some cases the land was either purchased or gifted but the buildings could not be timely constructed.
Majority of audit paras were mostly related to the discrepancies in the amounts of security deposits or over payments and unjustified extensions or retention of the rental buildings.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025