+- Accountancy Forum (https://www.accountancy.com.pk/forum)
+-- Forum: General (https://www.accountancy.com.pk/forum/forum-general)
+--- Forum: General Discussion (https://www.accountancy.com.pk/forum/forum-general-discussion)
+--- Thread: WHY NOT THAT STAFF CAR? (/thread-why-not-that-staff-car)
WHY NOT THAT STAFF CAR? - javed - 07-13-2007
Staff cars and charity are the two most favourite topics of senior writer Mr. Hafizur Rehman. His 4th July column once again is on Staff cars and to my memories during last 2 years I have seen not less than 5 his columns on this topic. How many did not pass through my eyes, I am not aware of.
His latest one is based on a news that 2300 staff cars were purchased for party workers only in one province of China and Chinese government seeing it as a luxury was now to sell these. He advises that in case the deprived Chinese party workers did not succeed in maneuvering to get back their staff cars they should send a study group in Pakistan to see how the thing is properly done here where till today no staff car holder has ever been caught âmisusingâ it. In each of his column he always quoted many interesting examples and in this latest he quotes how an ex- bureaucrat colleague of his used to use staff car for transporting passengers between Hala and Hyderabad and was never caught. But to his bad luck once a customer (a magistrate) made a complaint only when the staff-car holder bureaucrat raised the fare which pinched the magistrate who was also using this passenger rent-a-staff car. I do remember having read a news item a few years back that US traffic police apprehended a car of Press Section of Pakistan Consulate being used allegedly as a hawker vain for delivery/sale of newspapers to homes.
Staff car is a pride of a bureaucrat or a government functionary. Mr. Hafizur Rehman keeps touching this interesting topic but my apologies in saying that he in his âdeliberate sweet innocenceâ or due to the standard prevalent âjournalism dishonestyâ he never touches a specific staff car and which car belonged to his own ex-office. And this specific car is the staff car of the then Federal Ombudsman Mr. Justice ® Usman Ali Shah. Since Hafizur Rehmanâs column is based from a news from China, it may be recollected that Mr. Justice Usman on return from China stated that the Chinese ombudsman was so powerful that on his order even a Minister can be fired. The very senior columnist Munoo Bhai on it titled his columned âAngles do not need more powersâ. He used the world âAnglesâ on the background that in a press conference when some reporters enquired if Justice Usman exempt from government rule by passing of which his secretariat had purchased a bigger capacity staff car for him. At this he became angry and replied âI am not an angleâ. He further remarked that the press has taken note of just a âminorâ irregularity but has ignored how much âinsaffâ he was giving to people (according to one newspaper âDistributingâ). In other words he was saying if a Doctor is found guilty of deliberate negligence causing deliberate death, it should be ignored because same doctor had given health to thousands. He further stated that there was no tape recorder, not allowed in government vehicles, in his car. After the press conference the reporters fingering towards installed tape recorder in the car remarked âperhaps Justice Sahib remain closed eyes traveling in the car. Mr. Justice Usman then threatened (for raising a genuine question or speaking a truth??) that he can take contempt note on it.
Under the law a civil servant on retirement is allowed to take home his staff car on payment of a partial amount (which is quite low due to depreciations calculated by unique formulas applied). It is a well known fact that 2-3 years before retirement such a to-be-taken home staff car gets almost complete special renovation, overhauling and replacement except for the body. On his retirement as the then Federal Ombudsman he wanted to take his staff car home. As still we have some though very limited in number real honest bureaucrats caring for the country, one of them raised a Summary Note that Mr. Justice Usman had twice earlier availed of this facility. Once on his retirement as Judge and then as Governor of NWFP. The Summary raised the question if one person can enjoy the same facility more than once. The last news about it was that this Note had landed on the desk of the then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto where it was pending for her decision.
Subsequently no progress about it was heard. At least it did not pass through my eyes, if there was any. Mr. Justice Usman took this third car with him or not is not known. But a question always remains in mind of this senior citizen and tax payer that whether an Ombudsman which is labeled as Citizens Friends and is claimed to be derived from the concept of Islamic System of Natural Justice should take with him a staff car even though a bureaucratic law on piece of paper allowed it. Mr. Justice Sardar Iqbal the first Ombudsman who really proved himself a true Ombudsman stated that now he was not a judge but an ombudsman and being an ombudsman he is to see if a few lines written on a sheet of paper as a Law were worth existence in todayâs civilized society. Taking home an official asset on minor payment is it allowed in Islam. About two years back the then Petroleum Minister Nasir Mengal and the Overseas Pakistanis Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan took home officially gifted watches priced Rs 5 lack each just on a nominal payment of Rs. 35,000 each. These official gifts were given to them by UAE rulers during the Ministers official tour to Dubai.
I wonder why Mr. Hafizur Rahman never tells the end story of above specific staff car. Is it because this car belongs to his own ex office?