PESHAWAR: The Director General Audit, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has ordered the recovery of Rs1.1 million from former speaker of the provincial assembly Asad Qaiser for illegally using four vehicles as he’s entitled to use two vehicles only, and the fixing of the responsibility for the unauthorised act.

The DGA office detected the illegal and unjustified use of vehicles while examining and evaluating accounts of the provincial assembly’s secretariat for the financial year 2015-16. The audit para ordered the recovery of Rs1.1 million from the former speaker.

Asad Qaiser of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf currently serves as speaker of the National Assembly.

Director General Audit orders recovery of Rs1.1m from Qaiser

“During verification of record pertaining to the subject audit para, it was noticed that the speaker of the provincial assembly is illegally using four vehicles instead of allowed two vehicles as per the Assembly’s Act.

“The department submitted a certificate regarding the emergency use of extra vehicles by the speaker. However, the record available in the file shows that PoL cost of the emergency vehicles are more than the regular allotted vehicles, which is not justified and needs recovery along with fixing responsibility,” the DGA office said in its comments in its audit para for the financial year 2016-17.

It recommended that audit para stood until the recovery of the cost incurred on vehicles used by the speaker in excess.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Speaker and Deputy Speaker’s (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act, 1975, which has been amended time to time allows speaker and deputy speaker to use two vehicles each.

The act, which was amended in 2011, says that the speaker and the deputy speaker shall be entitled to use two official cars maintained at the government expense. Earlier, both were entitled to use one official car each.

The federal government had provided a bulletproof jeep to the speaker of the provincial assembly in 2009 due to security situation at that time, which is still used by him.

Apart from the bulletproof jeep, the speaker has been provided police escorts along with two pickup trucks.

The assembly secretariat in its reply to the DGA office justified use of two additional vehicles by former speaker Asad Qaiser.

When contacted, an official of the assembly secretariat said the audit para regarding the illegal use of two vehicles was discussed in the meeting of the Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) and that the reply was submitted to the DGA office.

“The assembly secretariat disagreed to the audit para. The committee’s plea is that Mr Speaker needed additional vehicles for the travelling of his staff, including cameraman, public relations officer and security guards,” he said requesting anonymity.

The official insisted that the DGA’s stand that the act authorised the assembly speaker to use only two official vehicles, was incorrect.

He said the governor and chief minister had been entitled to use one vehicle each but practically, they were using more than 15 vehicles.

“Being custodian of the House, Mr Speaker should be given the status at least equal to the chief minister and governor’s,” he said, adding that the said act was passed in 1975 and needed to be revisited to enhance perks and privileges of the speaker and deputy speaker.

Sources said the speaker’s PRO had been provided with a separate vehicle.

They said the Act had been amended from time to time to increase perks and privileges.

The sources said the Act was amended in 2011 and the number of vehicles was increased from one to two.

They said the speaker was also entitled airfare of the first or business class in addition to airfare for economy class for one private servant.

Former assembly secretary Amanullah Khan, who retired last year, said he had pointed out the issue to former speaker Asad Qaiser through a note submitted to him (speaker) at that time.

“As pointed out time and again, under Section 27 of the Act 1975, both speaker and deputy speaker are entitled to only two official vehicles maintained at the government’s expenses,” he said.

Mr Amanullah said it was evident from the list that five vehicles were being used by the speaker and the expenditure being incurred were not covered under the law unless it was properly amended.

He said the note was submitted in 2015 to the speaker and he politely excused to honour the additional expenditure.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2019