Staff Reporter :
The office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the country’s highest audit authority, has clearly pointed out some of the irregularities, mismanagement and lack of transparency in spending public money by the Bangladesh’s High Commission in London.
The CAG office in its 2012-13 report said the High Commission has failed to give satisfactorily clarification about 47 audit objections out of 57. It asked the mission for refunding the money spent without ‘due authorization’.
The highest audit body has blamed incumbent High Commissioner Mohammed Mijarul Quayes, who was posted to the
High Commission on December 9, 2012, for ‘misuse of powers’, like employing personal servants as members of mission staff. He carried two domestic servants from Dhaka to work for him there. But, instead of paying them himself, he appointed them as mission’s staff positions and paid them from public exchequer.
Earlier, Quayes served as foreign secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) between July 9, 2009 and December 2, 2012.
The CAG repot observed that the High Commission’s management of accounts was ‘poor’ and registers listing the spending could not be produced during the audit.
Meanwhile, the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), an anti-graft watchdog, has called for punishment of those in the mission who were responsible for the financial irregularities.
Bdnews24.com adds: Asked to comment, TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman told the agency: “Those guilty of misusing public funds must be punished after proper investigations.” He also lauded the CAG for closely monitoring spending of public money at Bangladesh’s foreign missions.
“The CAG has clearly pointed to the irregularities. Now it is the job of concerned ministries to investigate them and punish the guilty,” he said.
The report citing government rules says Quayes must pay for Sheepon Mia and Deen Islam as they were his domestic help.
The mission pointed out to the auditors that they had been appointed as local staff following foreign ministry’s rules AD-P1-8201 dated 03-07-2002.
But the CAG says this explanation is found “not satisfactory”.
The High Commission officers requested the auditors not to include this in the report saying they did not face such objection in earlier audits.
But the report says the High Commissioner violated finance ministry’s “Financial Propriety” rules.
So, it has advised the mission to recover the money from the two staff or else manage finance ministry’s approval.
The auditors found that High Commissioner Quayes withdrew Tk 550,000 to pay for his transportation, handling charge, clearing and local transport bill of his personal “2,250 kg” baggage from Dhaka to London when he was transferred.
According to the report, he took “100 percent advance” transportation cost when he was transferred from Dhaka to London in Dec 2012. So, the report says, he is not entitled to receive the British pounds he received in Feb. It’s “recoverable”, says the report.
In reply the mission told the auditors the High Commissioner received the money following the foreign ministry’s rules.
The mission authorities argued that advance bill had been paid for carrying his baggage from Bangladesh residence to London port (door to port).
The High Commissioner is also entitled to receiving costs for carrying baggage from London port to his London residence, they argued. The mission also said that they would adjust it with the foreign ministry and would inform the audit directorate later.
But the auditors found the reply “not satisfactory” and asked Foreign Ministry’s clarification further, insisting the money is “recoverable”. The audit report pointed out many financial ‘irregularities’ of the mission that had overspent its 2012-2013 budgets. The diplomatic wing spent 8 percent more than the allocation while commercial wing spent nearly 13 percent more and press wing 5.6 percent.
The spending is contrary to the financial instructions for the Bangladesh Mission Abroad, auditors commented in the report.
The mission in reply said its spending rose due to some “unexpected” changes in its staff number.
