Government allocates COVID-19 funds to FWO: Report

ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) recently had pointed out $4 million donated by China to construct a health facility were assigned to Frontier Works Organization (FWO). 

AGP had pointed out financial irregularities in the procurement and storage by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) during the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly in 2020. 

Further, the audit report on the expenditure acquired on COVID-19 by the federal government has indicated that the agency had failed to upgrade the national plan on a twelve-monthly basis, which was obligatory under National Disaster Management Act 2010. Eventually, this led to a deadlock in the authority's planning procedure during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The report of AGP also emphasised that the $4 million bestowed by China for the construction of 250 beds Isolation Hospital and Infections Treatment Centre, Islamabad were reserved by NDMA and assigned the construction assignment to FWO by utilising the funds that were allocated for tackling COVID-19.

The irregularities in the audit report comprised loss to the public exchequer by the purchase of ventilators at excessive rates amounting to $1.96 million, procurement of ventilators at higher rates without justification amounted to Rs69.73 million.

The audit report suggested that NDMA needed to reinforce the processes of managing contracts and internal operations.