56 Companies Salaries To Be Taken Back
56 Companies Salaries To Be Taken Back: Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar has reproached Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif after he failed to satisfy the court regarding the hiring of people as heads of 56 public sector companies on very high salaries.
Hearing a suo motu notice of appointment of a retired officer as the head of the Strategic Management and Internal Policy Unit on a salary package much higher than that being given to the Punjab chief secretary CJP said that “You are custodian of the public money. Leave it what the result or performance of the companies is or what the policies are, just tell us how the officials of the same grades at the public departments posted to the public sector companies could be doled out public money in millions,” the CJ asked the chief minister.
Shahbaz told the court that the relevant authorities, and not him, had appointed the chief executives to the said companies. He said such companies had also been set up in Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and in the Centre as well, adding that these companies were also established before he assumed power. “We are custodian of the national exchequer and safeguard every single penny of the nation,” he added.
The CJ said that tens of millions of rupees were invested in the Punjab Saaf Pani Company, but not a single drop of water was supplied. “Rs4 billion were invested in Punjab Saaf Pani Company, but there is not even a single drop of water,” the CJ remarked.
The chief minister said that before his tenure, the companies were made and billions of rupees were wasted, but no action was taken against them. He said that no money was wasted during his tenure.
China has invested in 1,260-megawatt project of Sahiwal Coal Power project while Punjab is getting 2% profit on it. Likewise, Safe City project has been established with more than half of the amount spent on the same project in Islamabad. No one has saved Rs160 billion in Pakistan’s 70 years history, adding that corruption had been committed in government departments even before the establishment of such companies.
Shahbaz responded saying he would accept the court decision, upon which the CJ asserted: “You will have to accept it, either you like it or not.”
For More Information & Videos Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel