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PCB audit report reveals Rs 500m irregularity
ISLAMABAD: Former Chairmen of
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have inflicted loss of over Rs500
million to the board in the last five years by misusing their
powers.
It was disclosed in a special
Audit Report issued by Auditor General of Pakistan for 2003 to
2008 which to be discussed in the meeting of Public Accounts
Committee to be held in the Parliament House on March 22.
According to report, obtained from sources of the Auditor
General, payment of Rs. 58.2 million was paid without any solid
reasons and illegally for Pak-Aus series in Feb-March 2008 in
the tenure of former Chairmen of PCB, Shehrayar Khan and Naseem
Ashraf.
The report said that PCB paid an
additional bonus of Rs97.2 million to its employees from 2003-04
to 2007-08 against the rules and regulations. In the tenure of
Dr. Naseem Ashraf, an amount of Rs70.5 million was given to
PCB’s employees in terms of bonus.
According to documents, PCB
installed Bio Mechanical System (VICON) in National
Cricket Academy without any
planning and an amount of Rs100 million was used unnecessarily.
Under Basic Infrastructure Development Programme 2007-08, an
amount of Rs153.4 million was utilised for the development of 22
Cricket Grounds in different districts and several
irregularities were found in releasing of this amount.
PCB never completed process of
tender for any project and payments were made to contractors
without keeping in view nature of the work of the project and
development on it.
According to documents, PCB paid
Rs12.8 million to eight officers of the board in terms of
overtime during ICC Champion Trophy 2008 while it was clearly
stated in Employees Service Rules 2007 of PCB that the officers
and employees of the board are not allowed to get overtime and
Rs3.835 million was paid to Shafqat Naghmi. According to the
report, an amount of Rs185.3 million was spent on the
construction of Foreign End Pavilion in Qaddafi Stadium Lahore
in 2008 while the board faced the loss of Rs40 million due to
poor planning.
PCB did not carry out any
feasibility before starting the project and contracts were
awarded without issuing tenders, the Audit Reports said. Under
the agreement, the contractors were to complete the construction
of the pavilion till October 27, 2008.
According to the audit report,
the board purchased generators worth of Rs44 million in August
2008 on lease of three years under Lease Financing and termed it
unjustified step. The constitution of the PCB allows the
administration of PCB to arrange money through loans, funds and
aid in case of need but there was additional amount in the
account of the board at the time of deal of generators.
PCB had appointed Shafqat Naghmi,
an officer of DMG Group as Chief Operating Officer on April 4,
2007 on the salary of Rs4,50,000 and later he was also appointed
as the consultant on Rs. 5.4 million annually.
The audit officials further said
that PCB had no authority to increase salaries and incentives of
any officer joined the board on deputation while Shafqat Naghmi
received an amount of Rs10.7 million from PCB in terms of
salaries and incentives and bonus of Rs2.258 million was also
included in this amount.
The report said that PCB had
appointed Shafqat Naghmi as Chief Operating Officer against
rules and regulations and wrong information was provided in the
National Assembly against a question raised in this regard.
The report further disclosed
that the board appointed Dr. Ahsan Hameed Malik on the post of
Marketing and Communication Consultant on Rs1,75,000 monthly in
2006 against rules and regulations and later he was appointed as
Director Marketing on salary of Rs2,25,000 in April 2007.
The audit officials were
surprised over the appointment of a MBBS doctor on the post of
Director Marketing. Dr. Naseem Ashraf appointed Nadeem Akram as
Director HR & Admin on Rs2,55,000 due to his (Naseem) closed
relation.
According to documents, the
appointment of these two officers caused loss of Rs15 million to
the board. - Online
Malik, Naved allowed to play in Bangladesh
KARACHI: Pakistan gave
permission Friday for banned former captain Shoaib Malik and
all-rounder Rana Naved-ul-Hasan to play in a domestic Twenty20
league in Bangladesh.
Earlier this month the Pakistan
Cricket Board (PCB) banned Malik and Naved from all forms of the
game for a year and fined them three million rupees (35,000
dollars) for breaching players' code of conduct.
Local media reported both
players were banned for match-fixing but the PCB has not
specified the violation.
"The penalties on these players
were for international cricket for the Pakistan team but they
are eligible to play in domestic competitions, so they are
cleared to play in Bangladesh," PCB official Wasim Bari told AFP.
Besides Malik and Naved, former
captains Younus Khan and Mohammad Yousuf were also banned on
March 10 for an indefinite period due to "infighting", after an
investigation into the team's disastrous December-February tour.
Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and
Umer Akmal were also fined heavily and put on probation for six
months. The players have 30 days to appeal.
The banned players are eligible,
however, to compete in domestic cricket in Pakistan and in
competitions abroad, like county cricket in England and private
leagues in other countries. But the PCB stipulated that no
player could play abroad without prior permission.
"Besides Malik and Naved some
other players also applied for permission and we have an open
mind on that," said Bari, PCB chief operating officer and
himself a former captain.
Yousuf was cleared to play in
Bangladesh earlier this week. The Twenty20 league starts later
this month. Openers Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umer have also been
cleared to play in Bangladesh. - AFP
Clarke marks comeback with century
Wellington: Michael Clarke
stroked an unbeaten 100 as Australia began the first
Trans-Tasman Trophy Test by amassing 316 for 4 on the first day
at Wellington.
The Australian vice-captain,
whose break-up with his fiancee has filled the headlines for the
wrong reasons, showed his class and resilience by performing on
the field of play, helping steer his side to a sturdy position.
Although New Zealand had their
moments, mainly good bowling from debutant Brent Arnel, who
claimed the Australian openers, and fine fielding from Bradley
John Watling but Clarke's unbeaten stand of 140 in just 28 overs
with left-handed Marcus North – who has been under microscope
following a poor home season, put
Australia ahead. Earlier, Simon
Katich had struck a fine 79 before a stutter of wickets brought
the hosts back into the match.
Katich's was a typically
watchful innings, in contrast to fellow left-handed opener
Phillip Hughes, who flashed his way to an entertaining but brief
20 before edging Arnel to the slips as the delighted seamer
struck on his fifth ball of Test cricket.
Ricky Ponting, after surviving a
couple of top-edges, continued unscathed to lunch with Katich,
who founded the boundaries gradually after a slow start. -
Agencies
Naming T20 WC skipper up to Butt: Mohsin
Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket
Board’s (PCB) chief selector Mohsin Khan said the final decision
regarding naming the captain for the forthcoming ICC T20 World
Championship would be taken by the board chairman Ejaz Butt.
Talking to reporters after meeting Butt, Khan said naming the
skipper for the upcoming important tournament was upto the PCB
chief.
“I met the chairman after
meeting the other members of the selection committee. We also
discussed the possible captain for the mega event. He is the
right person to name the captain because it is up to him,” An
English daily quoted Khan as saying.
The PCB has already announced a
15-member squad for the ICC World T20 Championship to be played
in West Indies from April 30 to May 16 but withheld naming the
captain for the coveted tournament. - Agencies
FIFA lifts
Iraq ban from int’l football
ZURICH: FIFA has lifted a ban on
Iraq that excluded the country's teams and officials from taking
part in international football. FIFA president Sepp Blatter said
Friday that Iraq was welcomed back because its Olympic committee
reversed a decision to disband the national football federation.
Blatter said FIFA worked closely
with the International Olympic Committee before lifting the ban.
Iraqi football officials must present FIFA with new statutes by
May 31 and hold a general assembly two months later.
FIFA suspended Iraq in November
because of political interference in football business. FIFA's
rules require full independence of national federations. -
Agencies
Malik to appeal against ban
KARACHI: Former captain Shoaib
Malik has decided to appeal against the one-year ban and fine
imposed on him by Pakistan Cricket Board which has accused him
of faking an injury and creating disharmony in the team during
the Australia tour.
Sources close to Malik said that
the all-rounder was upset after receiving a two page chargesheet
from the board which stated that the inquiry committee set up by
the PCB had found him to be faking injury besides spreading
disharmony in the dressing room during Australia tour in
January-February.
Malik had held consultations
with lawyers after getting the letter from the board and decided
to appeal against the ban initially to the board chairman and
governing council members.
"The two pages from the board
state that the inquiry committee has found him guilty of
creating intrigues in the team, spreading disharmony in the
dressing room and also faking an ankle injury in New Zealand," a
source disclosed. - PTI
Indonesia out
of 2022 FIFA World Cup race
ZURICH: Indonesia is out of the
race to host the 2022 World Cup. FIFA said Friday that
Indonesian bid leaders missed a deadline to produce the required
government guarantees to back the project.
FIFA secretary general Jerome
Valcke says "Indonesia is not any more a candidate for 2022."
Indonesia was always considered the outsider of the 11 original
candidates which applied to host the tournament in 2018 or 2022.
Indonesia hosted the 2007 Asian
Cup, but would have needed to invest billions of euros (dollars)
building and upgrading stadiums to provide minimum 10 venues
needed to host the 32-team World Cup. – Agencies |