Mohammad Jamil
mjamil1938@hotmail.com
Labour activists and Trade Union leaders gathered at Karachi Press Club on Tuesday and reminded Senator Saeed Ghani, recently appointed Labor advisor to Sindh Chief Minister, about challenges faced by labourers in the province. Executive director of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) Karamat Ali said that one of the longstanding issues was corruption and mismanagement within the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI). Speaking at the Karachi Press Club, he said: “The embezzlement of funds within the EOBI is the first and foremost challenge to overcome, as it affects millions of people living on pensions.” Former Chairman of EOBI (Employees Old Age Benefit Institution) Zafar Gondal (brother of ex-Federal Minister Nazar Muhammad Gondal) is alleged to be involved in 13 different cases of corruption, kickbacks and irregular spending of EOBI funds, amounting to Rs. 44 Billion.
The list of cases include among others, unauthorized purchase of 93 vehicles and cars including five 1800cc and illegal sanction of car loans for fresh employees; illegal appointments of 238 employees during 2010 to 2013 which were declared null and void by the SCP on 17th March 2014; purchased Crown plaza at F-7, Islamabad for Rs 1.02 billion whereas the actual value was Rs. 626 million; payment of Rs. 16 billion to DHA Lahore officials for purchase of DHA commercial properties/express way including 221 Kanal of land at an exorbitant price; donated Rs. 1 billion to PM’s flood relief fund from EOBI’s pensioner’s fund, which cannot be donated for any purpose. He also established his own flood relief fund “KASHKOL” and deposited a huge funded amount to his private bank account; and suspend/transfer of honest employees to remote areas without any reason.
In October, 2015 the Supreme Court had cancelled the bail of former chairman of Employees Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) Zafar Gondal on the appeal filed by the federal government. A two-member bench headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Chaudhry had heard the appeal of the federal government during which Additional Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti pleaded the court to cancel Zafar Gondal’s bail. He told the bench that the accused Zafar Gondal was allegedly involved in Rs. 43 million corruption and 13 cases were registered against him. He said Islamabad High Court granted him bail in one case while the Lahore High Court had granted him bail in six cases which were disrupting independent investigations of the cases. He pleaded the court to cancel bails of the accused for transparent investigation. The court accepted the Additional Attorney General’s plea and cancelled the bails granted to Zafar Gondal.
The court also referred six cases back to LHC and directed to fix the cases for hearing to other judges. The cases were registered against Zafar Gondal for buying and selling EOBI’s lands and involvement in other cases. It is a matter of grave concern that corruption has deeply permeated in every strata of our society. Scandals regarding corruption, misappropriation, plundering of billions from banks and other federal, provincial and semi-government departments abound. According to an earlier Transparency International Pakistan’s report, Pakistan lost more than Rs.8,500 billion (Rs8.5 trillion or US$94 billion) in corruption, tax evasion and bad governance during the last tenure of the PPP government. Though National Accountability Bureau claimed that it had recovered a part of the plundered money, yet most culprits either escaped or were honorably acquitted by the courts due to lacuna in prosecution and investigation, lack of evidence or witnesses.
In the past, efforts were made to reduce the incidence of corruption. During Ayubian era, a number of corruption-tainted politicians were barred from participating in the elections under EBDO but they were never tried and convicted. During Yahya Khan’s Martial Law, 303 civil servants and government functionaries were summarily dismissed but were not prosecuted. During the Bhutto era, services of around 1100 government employees were terminated without holding any trial against them with the result those involved in serious cases of corruption were let off the hook. There was another package for the corrupt under Pervez Musharraf’s watch on 30th April 2000, when Central Board of Revenue had announced Tax Amnesty Scheme to legalize all the hidden assets and black money by charging 10 per cent of the undisclosed income earned on or before 30th June 1999. One would not find such example of rewarding the tax evaders and those plundering the national exchequer.
In other words, nobody tried to set an example to deter others from pursuing corrupt practices. In 1996, Transparency International had declared Pakistan as the second-most corrupt country in the world where corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, black marketers, smugglers, tax evaders and drug mafia were ‘rewarded’ through general amnesty schemes or through opportunities to whiten their black money. In this connection, bureaucracy had played an ignominious role by misguiding the government not to act tough because otherwise there would be flight of capital and economy will collapse. The problem is that mostly those who have amassed wealth through illegal means can afford the luxury of elections. Such elements first invest to reach the corridors of power with a view to increasing their wealth, and then they want to be re-elected to protect that ill-gotten wealth. But there is need to take measures to stop unethical and corrupt practices, and to block the corrupt elements’ entry into the corridors of power.
