Daily Times

KARACHI: The Karachi Cooperatives registrar has started an inquiry into alleged misappropriation of Fisheries Cooperative Society (FSC) funds by Hafiz Abdul Berr, chairman of the entity, representatives of the Board of Directors (BoDs) told Daily Times on Wednesday.

Following an appeal by FCS members, Registrar Amir Khursheed had earlier said that a probe would be initiated into alleged embezzlement of funds by Berr and in this respect a responsible team of Registrar Office, comprising competent officials, would be constituted.

Besides, Abuzar Mariwala, Habibullah, Dr M Yousuf, Hanif Lara and Shafi Jamote, directors of the FCS, have revealed that on their request, the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has also started an inquiry into the illegal appointments of a team of advisers to Berr.

“The appointment of advisers was made in violation of by-laws of the FCS. Moreover, they having no adequate knowledge and are not acquainted with the working condition of the institution,” the officials claimed.

“For the last three months, not a single – monthly-base – meeting of the BoD was held, and without mandatory consent by the BoDs, the FCS chairman was awarding contracts and passing bills to the tune of millions of rupees. He had awarded the contract for cleaning and maintaining fish harbour worth Rs 2.25 million per month to his favourite without approval of the BoDs, besides awarding sea food auction rights to one party without floating any tender in this regard,” the officials alleged.

The BoDs comprises eight government appointed nominees and seven private members for a period of three years who are responsible for managing and looking after the financial and administrative affairs of the FCS, besides working for the benefits of member fishermen.

They said that Berr had spent Rs 420 million on “unknown” projects and had awarded a contract for building a trading site in harbour without seeking mandatory prior approval of the BoDs.

“Berr is not a competent official as he is not acquainted with sea fishing matters, trade and even he was not a bureaucrat as well,” they lamented.

“Around 20 appointments in different cadre of services on political grounds had also been made in the FCS in sheer violation of by-laws of the entity,” they added.

They went on to say that said the FCS chairman was also denying rights to employees, and ignoring appointments on heirs’ quota as per the agreement.

“The FSC chief had withdrawn Rs 21.3 million from a commercial bank account of the office without intimating the BoDs,” they asserted, adding: “Bank withdrawal of other amounts on different pretexts amounting to Rs 210 million and Rs 67.34 million from August onwards had also depicted Berr’s financial corruption”.

Earlier, Nisar Morai and Sami Khan, ex-FCS chairmen, were also interrogated by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the ACE for alleged funds embezzlement worth millions of rupees.

FCS was established in 1945, before partition of sub-continent by Muhammad Mariwala, father of Abuzar Mariwala, current vice president of FCS. Meanwhile, FSC Secretary Saeed Baloch has said that legal action would be taken against Berr at any cost in order to purge the department of corrupt officials.

Published in Daily Times, November 2^nd 2017.