Country paper on social audit. SAI Pakistan

1.

COUNTRY PAPER ON SOCIAL AUDIT
by
Shuja Ali, Director General
SAI-PAKISTAN
Department of the Auditor-General of Pakistan
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2.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AGP
Auditor General of Pakistan
BIRD
Balochistan Initiative for Relief and Development
CDWA
Clean Drinking Water for All (Project)
CPA
Citizen Participatory Audit
CSOs
Civil Society Organizations
DAGP
Department of the Auditor General of Pakistan
NGO
Non-Governmental Organizations
DANESH
Drugs and Narcotics Educational Services for Humanity
Social Action for Women Empowerment & Rural Advancement
SAWERA
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3.

MANDATE OF SAI-PAKISTAN
Auditor General of Pakistan draws mandate from Articles 170 & 171 of
The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973.1
Department of AGP, being prime institution, is responsible for ensuring
public accountability & fiscal transparency in governmental operations.
Its primary objectives include:
Improving financial discipline & internal control environment.
Strengthening legislative oversight.2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1.Constitution of Pakistan
2. Sections 8, 10 and 12 of the Auditor- General’s (Functions, Powers and Terms and Conditions of Service) Ordinance 2001.
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4.

CONCEPTUALIZATION OF SOCIAL AUDIT
A social audit is an accountability mechanism where citizens organize and
mobilize to evaluate or audit government’s performance and policy
decisions.
It rests on the premise that when government officials are watched and
monitored, they feel greater pressure to respond to their constituents’
demands and have fewer incentives to abuse their power.
It is based on the concept that citizens want and have the right to know what
the government does; how it does it; how it impacts on them; and that the
government has an obligation to account and be transparent to citizens.3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Gerardo Berthin (2011), A Practical Guide to Social Audit as a Participatory Tool to strengthen democratic governance, transparency, and
accountability, UNDP-TRAALOG Project, Regional Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean, Panama.
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5.

ADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL AUDIT
Helps train the community on participatory local planning
Encourages local democracy
Encourages community participation
Benefits disadvantaged groups
Promotes collective decision making
Social
& sharing responsibilities
Audit
Develops human resources
and social capital.4
Education
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Environment
Health
Children
Rights
Disability &
Gender
Rights
Livelihood &
Poverty
Reduction
4. https://www.wallstreetmojo.com.
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6.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATORY AUDIT
of
CDWA PROJECT, BALOCHISTAN
(An Example of Social Auditing)
AGP traditionally Conducts Certification, Compliance, Performance, and
Thematic Audits which are not directly construed as types of social audit.
However, Citizen Participatory Audit has been introduced formally by AGP in
the current audit year in Pakistan.
Director General Audit Balochistan, being the Field Audit Office (FAO),
conducted Citizen Participatory Audit (CPA) of Clean Drinking Water for All
(CDWA) Project of the provincial government of Balochistan this year.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Annual Audit Plan, 2023-24.
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7.

OBJECTIVES OF CDWA PROJECT
CDWA Project, Balochistan was established to:
Provide clean drinking water to all the people across the Balochistan
province by installing water filtration plants.
Install and operationalize water purification plants at different public places.
Improve the health situation in the country by controlling water-borne
diseases.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------6. Planning Documents/ PC-1 of CDWA Project
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8.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF CDWA PROJECT
CLEAN DRINKING WATER FOR ALL (CDWA) PROJECT (PHASE-II)
S. No.
Particulars/ Components
Specific Details
Remarks
1.
Sponsoring Agency
Government
of Through PSDP for FY 2015-16.
Balochistan (GoB)
2.
Executing Agency
Public Health Engineering -(PHE) Department
3.
Budget Allocation
Rs. 300 million
-4.
Project Approval Date
01.12.2015
By PDWP
5.
Completion date
30.06.2021
6.
No. of Purification Plants 84 (One RO Plant could (63 UF + 21 RO Plants)
Installed
not be installed due to One RO plant could not be
disputed site).
installed due to disputed site.
7.
Targeted Population
Project (beneficiaries).
of
the 1.890 Million Citizens/
--
Individuals
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Source: Planning Documents/ PC-1 of CDWA Project
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9.

AUDIT OBJECTIVES OF CPA
Assess whether the CDWA project achieved the intended objective of providing clean
drinking water in Balochistan in an efficient and effective manner;
Review the design and site selection of the project and assess whether the installed
WFPs were functional or otherwise;
Examine the capacity of the project regarding maintenance and repair of the WFPs, and
evaluate whether the allocated budget for the annual maintenance of the WFPs was
properly utilized;
Assess the performance of the project with regard to Efficiency, Economy and
Effectiveness (3Es);
Identify factors responsible for success or failure of project.6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. Annual Audit Report, DG Audit Balochistan, FY-2022-23.
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10.

AUDIT CRITERIA OF CPA BASED ON IBPs
Sustainable Development Goals, WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality.
Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997 & Drinking Water Quality Standards,
2008.
Balochistan Local Government Act, 2014 & Balochistan Environmental Protection
Act, 2014,
National Environmental Policy, 2005, National Sanitation Policy, 2006, & National
Drinking Water Policy, 2009.
Pakistan Labor Policy, 2010, ISO 9001 Total Quality Management, & ISO
14001:2015.
Pakistan National BCC Strategy and Action Plan for Safe Drinking Water, Sanitation
and Hygiene 2010–2015.7
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7. Annual Audit Report, DG Audit Balochistan, FY-2022-23.
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11.

AUDIT METHODOLOGY OF CPA
CPA Audit was conducted with the active participation of citizens at two levels:
i. Engagement of registered CSOs through:
consultative sessions
selection of audit area
making the members of CSOs (BIRD, DANESH, SAWERA) part of the
Field Audit Team (FAT)
ii. Engagement of Local Citizens by seeking their input at local/ community
level in 16 selected districts through:
surveys
interviews
questionnaires.
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12.

MAJOR AUDIT FINDINGS OF CPA
Major issues collected through Survey Questionnaires as reported by the Citizens
were translated into major audit findings:
Lack of policy on scarcity of water.
Non-functionality of water plants.
Deployment of non-professional plant operators.
Poor water sources & compromised quality of water.
Lack of government attention to the plants repair, maintenance,
ownership, supervision, and control.9
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9. Annual Audit Report, DG Audit Balochistan, FY-2022-23
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13.

MAJOR AUDIT FINDINGS OF CPA
Source: Annual Audit Report, DG Audit Balochistan, FY-2022-23
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14.

MAIN CHALLENGES CONFRONTED DURING CPA
AUDIT
Approaching Citizens and CSOs.
Fostering Consensus.
Creating awareness.
Taking CSOs/ Citizens agreement without reward.
Designing survey/ interview questionnaires in local languages.
Resistance to change by the project/government authorities.
Absence of reliable data bank/ data base.
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15.

WAY FORWARD
Political Will
Legislative Framework
Capacity Enhancement and Skills Development
Objectivity and Independence
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