PAC urged to play proactive role for clearing irregularities

Lawmakers have reiterated that the Public Account Committee (PAC) under the House of Representatives, the Federal Parliament, should play a more proactive role in reducing the financial irregularities of the government which have been escalating each year.

They also said the PAC should play a role in rendering the economic activities of the government frugal and transparent. It should also keep a watch on the economic activities of the government and enforcing abidance to fiscal discipline, the MPs said in a meeting of the Committee here today.

PAC president Hrishikesh Pokharel said information should be taken from the government and through the ministries concerned on the causes of increase in government irregularities and the ways to minimize them.

Today's meeting is focused on how the PAC is to move ahead its activities in the coming days.

Lawmaker Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai said the PAC should be bold enough to keep tabs on the financial activities of the government and to issue directives for action when required. He expressed the confidence that the Committee will play a role in winning the confidence of the people in the context of the growing detestation among them towards the present system fur to the lack of good governance and transparency.

Bhattarai said the PAC should be given right to scrutinize the income and expenditure of the parties which are recognized as the national level parties.

Stating that the financial activities of NGOs and INGOs are not transparent enough and their expenditure is not incorporated in the government accounting system, he said the PAC should take this matter seriously.

Similarly, lawmaker Amaresh Kumar Singh said the PAC has an important role to play in maintaining fiscal transparency. He stressed on the need of looking for ways to settle the irregularities remaining since decades and finalizing them.

Lawmaker Tara Lama Tamang stressed that the PAC should play a role towards making the government entities adhere to fiscal discipline and transparency in government works while lawmaker Sanjaya Kumar Gautam said he expects the PAC to be successful in clearing the irregularities and maintaining the fiscal good governance in its present term.

Gokul Prasad Baskota said some lawmakers remained absent in the very first meeting of the Committee and even those who were present did not stay throughout the meeting. He raised question over the effectiveness of the Committee due to this. Baskota called for having the technical auditing of development projects.

Likewise, lawmakers Achyut Peasad Mainali, Shyam Kumar Ghimire, Hari Dhakal, Ram Krishna Yadav and Bharat Shah spoke on the need of the PAC playing active role in reducing the government's arrears and irregularities, maintaining fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability.

Federal Parliament Secretariat secretary Dr Rojnath Pandey shared in the meeting that the budget expenditure by the non-government organisations is included in the government's annual budget, but it was not included in government treasury.

National Assembly secretary Dr Surendra Aryal said the PAC should look into the issues pointed out to in the Auditor General's report and the topics falling within auditing of public finances and the complaints filed at the Committee with priority basis.

He stressed that PAC should play effective role in reducing the irregularities amounting to over Rs 950 billion. According to Aryal, the latest two reports submitted by the Office of the Auditor General in the last two years have not been discussed in the PAC and therefore the irregularities pointed out therein have not been settled.

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