Latest news with #CMIT
Express Tribune
03-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Water project components' contract cancelled
The Punjab government's project steering committee has cancelled a contract worth Rs20.4 billion awarded to a foreign firm for Lots 2 and 3 of the Chahan Dam Water Supply project and has ordered a fresh tendering process following a fact-finding investigation by the Chief Minister's Inspection Team (CMIT). The Asian Development Bank-funded project had originally been awarded to a Turkish firm, Five-H Insaat, despite the successful joint venture bid having also included a Pakistani company, Qasim & Co. The steering committee questioned how the contract was awarded solely to the foreign firm when the bid was won as a joint venture. CMIT's intervention, prompted by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, is being credited for preventing a potential financial scandal. A high-level meeting chaired by Punjab Planning and Development Board Chairman Barrister Nabeel Awan, and attended by all relevant secretaries, their representatives, and Hamza Salik, Project Director of the "Dream Project," reviewed CMIT's findings before deciding to cancel the contract. The committee also decided that necessary action against the officials responsible for the contract award would be taken by the chief secretary. Additionally, in line with the Chief Minister's directive, all future foreign-funded projects will be reviewed by the steering committee every three months to ensure transparency. The contract in question had sparked legal action from Qasim & Co., who challenged the exclusion in court. After the matter was brought to the chief minister's notice, she instructed CMIT to conduct a fact-finding inquiry and submit a report within seven days. The CMIT investigation, led by Chairman Salman Ejaz along with members Ahsan Waheed, Ghulam Abbas Warraich, and an engineering specialist, found significant flaws in the procurement process, including the absence of regular quarterly reviews despite the project being foreign-funded. Now, under the guidance of the Chairman of the Planning and Development Wing Punjab, the Steering Committee of Dream Project-1 will decide within three weeks whether to reinstate or fully terminate the contract. If cancelled, the contract will be retendered. For context, Lot 1 of the Dream Project-1bringing 12 million gallons of water daily from Chahan Damhad previously been awarded for Rs6.36 billion to a joint venture between China Construction Third Engineering and a Pakistani partner. Meanwhile, Lot 4, worth Rs7.19 billion, was awarded to a joint venture of MS Mirakhan KBDL and Five-H Insaat. Lot 4 covers the upgrade of filtration plants, pumping stations, and old pipelines at Rawal and Khanpur dams to ensure 24/7 water supply to the Khayaban-e-Sir Syed area.
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Express Tribune
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
CM's Inspection Team fails to perform
As the Punjab government completes one year in office, the performance of all the departments has come under scrutiny. However, nothing could be revealed regarding the performance of the Chief Minister's Inspection Team, which critics believe is nothing more than another white elephant. Since the past 21 years, the Chief Minister's Inspection Team (CMIT) has been functional in Punjab. Comprising seven members along with a chairman and a secretary, the work of the team has been organized by allocating districts and divisions to different members. Each member of the team conducts monthly inspections regularly on the Chief Minister's directives. The CMIT has a staff of 110 officers and employees, resulting in an annual expenditure of Rs180 million on salaries and petrol. According to the information received by the Express Tribune, the CMIT has steadily faced a reduction in its workload over the years since the anti-corruption department and other institutions are also investigating their own matters. Hence, the number of inquiries under investigation has decreased from 600 during the era of Pervez Musharraf to an average of 150 per year in the current tenure. According to Salman Abid, a public policy advisor, the Chief Minister's Inspection Team has been used politically in every era. "This office is just a mini stop of service for Pakistan's administrative officers. When they get a good posting chance in the field, they leave the team. Hence, the team is a burden on the exchequer and is acting as a white elephant. While anti-corruption works on the source report, the Chief Minister's Inspection Team works on the Chief Minister's directive," noted Abid. As per the Chief Minister's Inspection Team Office, there are four types of complaints processed by the CMIT. The first type comes as the Chief Minister's directive, the second comes from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the third comes from the Facilitation and Accountability Cell while the fourth is a general complaint. Reportedly, a former member of the Chief Minister's Inspection Team and former President Provincial Management Service Rai Manzoor Hussain Nasir, had suggested to the Punjab government last year that the office of the CMIT should be shifted to GOR-1 near the CM's office. The move was expected to activate the office of the CMIT, but this did not happen. Furthermore, six chairmen of the CMIT have been changed in the last two years, out of which four were changed only last year. Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, opined that the inspection team was used as political revenge. "Petrol worth millions of rupees is wasted by officials in the name of inspection. The government should close all institutions that are a burden on the treasury and use this money for the welfare of the people," said Bhachar. The spokesman of the Punjab government refuted the claims that the CMIT was not performing well. "The Chief Minister issues directives for inspections and inquiries about various departments on a daily basis. This is yielding encouraging results. The team is also reviewing complaints from various departments," claimed the spokesman. The correspondent tried contacting the Chairman of the CMIT Salman Ijaz several times to inquire about the performance of the team, but he failed to respond.
Express Tribune
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
CM's Inspection Team shows minimal performance
As the Punjab government completes one year in office, the performance of all the departments has come under scrutiny. However, nothing could be revealed regarding the performance of the Chief Minister's Inspection Team, which critics believe is nothing more than another white elephant. Since the past 21 years, the Chief Minister's Inspection Team (CMIT) has been functional in Punjab. Comprising seven members along with a chairman and a secretary, the work of the team has been organized by allocating districts and divisions to different members. Each member of the team conducts monthly inspections regularly on the Chief Minister's directives. The CMIT has a staff of 110 officers and employees, resulting in an annual expenditure of Rs180 million on salaries and petrol. According to the information received by the Express Tribune, the CMIT has steadily faced a reduction in its workload over the years since the anti-corruption department and other institutions are also investigating their own matters. Hence, the number of inquiries under investigation has decreased from 600 during the era of Pervez Musharraf to an average of 150 per year in the current tenure. According to Salman Abid, a public policy advisor, the Chief Minister's Inspection Team has been used politically in every era. 'This office is just a mini stop of service for Pakistan's administrative officers. When they get a good posting chance in the field, they leave the team. Hence, the team is a burden on the exchequer and is acting as a white elephant. While anti-corruption works on the source report, the Chief Minister's Inspection Team works on the Chief Minister's directive,' noted Abid. As per the Chief Minister's Inspection Team Office, there are four types of complaints processed by the CMIT. The first type comes as the Chief Minister's directive, the second comes from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the third comes from the Facilitation and Accountability Cell while the fourth is a general complaint. Reportedly, a former member of the Chief Minister's Inspection Team and former President Provincial Management Service Rai Manzoor Hussain Nasir, had suggested to the Punjab government last year that the office of the CMIT should be shifted to GOR-1 near the CM's office. The move was expected to activate the office of the CMIT, but this did not happen. Furthermore, six chairmen of the CMIT have been changed in the last two years, out of which four were changed only last year. Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, opined that the inspection team was used as political revenge. 'Petrol worth millions of rupees is wasted by officials in the name of inspection. The government should close all institutions that are a burden on the treasury and use this money for the welfare of the people,' said Bhachar. The spokesman of the Punjab government refuted the claims that the CMIT was not performing well. 'The Chief Minister issues directives for inspections and inquiries about various departments on a daily basis. This is yielding encouraging results. The team is also reviewing complaints from various departments,' claimed the spokesman. The correspondent tried contacting the Chairman of the CMIT Salman Ijaz several times to inquire about the performance of the team, but he failed to respond.
Express Tribune
28-02-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Report on 'controversial' Rs20.4b water contract sought
The Punjab government has recently taken notice of the award of a Rs20.4 billion contract for Lot 2 and Lot 3 of the Chahan Dam Water Supply project to a Turkish company after terminating a partnership with a Pakistani company, seeking a report within a week. Up to 25 million gallons of water have to be provided from Chahan Dam and Rawal Dam to Rawalpindi daily under the Rs33.859b loan funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The contract was awarded solely to a Turkish company after terminating the partnership with the Pakistani company. The lack of transparency in the contract award and violation of laws and regulations have prompted the formation of a fact-finding committee, led by the Chairman of the Chief Minister's Inspection Team (CMIT). The committee has begun reviewing the records at WASA Rawalpindi, and a report will be submitted to the Punjab chief minister after a week. The committee, under the leadership of CMIT Chairman Salman Ejaz, and members Ahsan Waheed (Member Four) and Ghulam Abbas Work (Member Engineering), is investigating the record at WASA Rawalpindi regarding the bidding process for the project. The bidding involved a joint venture between the Turkish company, 5H Insaat, and the Pakistani company, Qasim & Co. However, the contract for Lot 2 and Lot 3 was awarded solely to the Turkish company. According to the law, no foreign company is allowed to secure a contract without forming a joint venture with a Pakistani company. Sources say the contract for Lot 2 and Lot 3 was awarded seven months later, after the contracts for Lot 1 and Lot 4 had already been granted. In this context, WASA sought guidelines from the local government. A letter regarding the formation of the fact-finding committee was issued by Sajad Zafar Dal, the Principal Secretary to the Punjab CM. It is worth noting that the contracts for Lot 1 and Lot 4 had already been awarded. The contract for Lot 2, valued at Rs8.3b, and Lot 3, worth Rs12.1b, were granted to the Turkish company 5H Insaat. Work on Lot 1 and Lot 4 is already underway. For Lot 1, the contract for a 12 million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant at Chahan Dam, worth Rs6.36b, was awarded to China Construction Third Engineering Group (Penty V). Meanwhile, for Lot 4, which involves upgrading the filtration plant and pumping machinery at Rawal Dam and Khanpur Dam, as well as rehabilitating the old water lines, the contract worth Rs7.199b was awarded to a joint venture of 5H Insaat and MS Metra Khan BD Ltd. These two contracts are set to be completed within three years. For Lot 2, the contract for the installation of a main pipeline from Chahan Dam to Chak Jalal Din, worth Rs8.3b, and for Lot 3, the contract for laying the distribution network to supply water from Chahan Dam to the city's residents, worth Rs12.1b, have been awarded. The completion of these four contracts will significantly improve the water supply system in six union councils (UCs) along Adiala Road, as well as in the areas of Khayaban-e-Sirsyad and other parts of Rawalpindi city. It is important to note that this project, initiated with a loan of Rs33.859b from the ADB, has appointed Hamza Salik as the Project Director in Lahore and Zeeshan Shaukat Gondal as the Deputy Project Director at WASA Rawalpindi.
