Continuing the work of the Public Accounts Committee

 

In the absence of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), an ad-hoc mechanism may be useful to further strengthen the arrangements for good governance and accountability for government programs and activities.

Such ad-hoc arrangements existed in Pakistan and Bangladesh before. In 1983 an ad-hoc committee was set up in Bangladesh through a Presidential Ordinance with Justice A.K.Baker as Chair. A similar arrangement was made in 2001 in Pakistan. An interim mechanism now in Bangladesh will allow Comptroller and Auditor General’s pending reports to be pursued and at the same time help avoid adding to the back log of unresolved audit observations from previous years.

A World Bank study shows out of 799 audit reports submitted during 1972 to 2005, only 266 reports have so far been discussed by all previous PACs. That means there is a backlog of 533 audit reports awaiting discussion by the PAC.  The previous PAC (8th Parliament) had 46 hearings and a report was issued only for 25 hearings covering 15 ministries. The results of remaining 21 hearings remain in draft form and have not been issued.  A total number of 159 audit objections till FY 05 were discussed. Based on the PAC decision, USD $ 9.1m was recovered, USD $ 17.9 was recommended to recover from various individuals/agencies and USD $81.8m was adjusted. According to another estimate, some US $ 30 million were identified for recovery through PAC discussion and decisions during the previous two years alone.

In line with previous national and international experiences, the ad-hoc committee may be consists of group of distinguished citizens. The guiding principles and the international best practices of the Commonwealth countries provide a way forward to secure a number of benefits, such as taking decision relating to the recovery of money due to the exchequer, instituting remedies for cases involving mis procurement, prompt settlement of other financial irregularities pointed out by audit and recommending actions for strengthening the effectiveness of future Public Accounts Committee.

July 2007

Contacts:
Rezwan-ul-Alam (8802) 815-9015, Ext 4242,      E-mail:  salam3@worldbank.org
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