PTA’s Illegal Hiring Exposed, Costing Millions of Rupees

Recently, an audit was conducted by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) which revealed startling abnormalities in the recruitment process of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). The AGP’s 2023-24 annual audit report showed that the irregularities in the hiring process led to a financial loss of more than Rs45 million to the national exchequer.

The report further disclosed that few appointments made during the 2022-23 fiscal year directly violated established service roles. These include the unauthorized hiring of one IT officer and two assistant directors at PTA headquarters, despite the absence of respective posts within the organizational structure.

Consequently, the telecom regulator paid PKR 45.9 million in salaries and allowances to the respective posts. The audit authorities have deemed these payments as a clear violation of regulations. The report also highlighted that the PTA’s hiring criteria also failed to follow the advertised criteria, with most of the appointments not adhering to the required standards.

In response, the telecom regulator claimed that its chairman is authorized to modify recruitment criteria. However, the audit authorities considered the justification unsatisfactory and argued that the recruitments were made for non-existent positions. In addition, the PTA overlooked directives to review its hiring practices and also failed to submit a corrective report within the allotted period.

The audit authorities have now called for an inquiry to identify the individuals responsible for these violations.

Source: Samaa TV

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