PAC mandates an audit of UCs’ monthly Rs2 billion allotments.
KARACHI: Citing worries over financial irregularities and a lack of control, the Sindh Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has mandated a thorough audit of the Rs2 billion monthly budget allotted to union councils (UCs) throughout the province.
The significant sums of money given to 1,600 UCs in Sindh are not being adequately audited, the PAC said in a formal letter to Pakistan’s auditor general. The Sindh government gives these local councils Rs 2 billion every month, but the committee pointed out that there is no continuous monitoring of how the money is being used.
The letter claims that between 2018 and 2019, the Directorate General (DG) Audit only conducted audits of the UCs in Karachi Division. There are significant accountability issues because the financial operations of UCs in other Sindh districts have not been audited.
In response, the PAC has urged the AGP to instruct the relevant DG Audit offices to conduct a three-year audit of the budgets and expenditures of UCs throughout Sindh.
Meanwhile, the PAC reported huge recoveries from various government departments in Sindh, totaling over Rs16.22billion to date. The DG Audit Local Government deposited Rs1.87 billion from recoveries made between September 2024 and April 2025, which is part of the most recent recovery of Rs3.42 billion. Additionally, between July 2024 and April 2025, DG Audit Sindh received Rs782.72 million, and DG Audit Works recovered Rs772.18 million. Additionally, Rs12.59billion was recovered in outstanding water charges from various federal and provincial institutions on behalf of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board.
All of these sums have been placed in the government’s treasury.
Between July 2024 and May 2025, the PAC convened 97 meetings, according to PAC Chairman Nisar Khuhro. The committee settled 325 of the 1,383 audit paras it reviewed from different departments during this time. The 1,058 paragraphs that remained were postponed for additional thought.
Khuhro emphasised that the PAC’s steadfast dedication to financial accountability and transparency is demonstrated by the recovery and deposit of more than Rs16 billion into the national treasury. He affirmed that the PAC will continue its efforts to recover public funds and ensure fiscal discipline across all government departments.
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