The Auditor General Pakistan (AGP), has highlighted serious objections into the financial affairs of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), including illegal increase in salary package of its chairman and the commissioners worth more than Rs156 mn per annum.
The AGP highlighted that under the law, SECP has to take approval from the Ministry of Finance for the salary increases.
The audit report has also suggested to that the Finance Ministry should eliminate or approve illegal increases.
The report highlighted that the management of SECP, Islamabad increased pay and allowances of the SECP employees in 119th Policy Board‘s meeting held on October, 17, 2024.
But the increase was approved with effect from July,1, 2023 as a result even the arrears were given to the Chairman Akif Saeed and other senior officials of the corporate sector regulator.
The Audit report highlighted that the salary package including perks and privileges of SECP chairman Akif Saeed has reached to Rs41.53 million in the fiscal year 2023-24, while the commissioners received Rs35.8 million each in terms of back dated salary increases.
While the SECP illegally distributed Rs110 million for entertainment allowance to commissioners and staff
The audit has highlighted that the increases have been made by the SECP Policy board, but it was not authorised to sanction such a raise.
Besides there has been an unlawful increase of pay and allowances of the SECP employees without prior concurrence of the Finance Division that amounted to Rs377.22 million.
The audit report added that the SECP was reluctant to deposit around Rs14 billion in the Federal Consolidated Fund.
This includes non-deposit of revenues in the Government treasury amount to Rs7.11 billion, and its breakup was Rs4.13 bn collected from licensing and registration, Rs591.56 million from the insurance sector, Rs47.77 from the Security market and Rs1.91 bn from the specialised companies.
The audit report highlighted that under the Section 37(1) of the Public Finance Management Act, 2019 – ‘revenues collected by an autonomous entity, which arise from any Act or statutory instruments of the Federal Government shall be deposited in the treasury single account.
’The SECP also did not deposit the surplus balance of Rs6.99 billion in the Federal Consolidated Fund.The audit report has referred to the Section 24(3) (A) of the SECP Act, 1997 that ‘any surplus of receipts over the actual expenditure including budgeted capital expenditure in the year shall be remitted to the Federal Consolidated Fund and any deficit from the actual expenditure shall be made up by the Federal Government.’
The AGP has added that the Finance Ministry has not given a satisfactory response to audit requests.
The audit report for the financial year 2023-24 will be taken up at the Public Accounts Committee of the parliament.
