Provincial Minister and Food Secretaries held responsible for wheat crisis

KARACHI: Federal Secretary for Food Hashim Popalzai, Punjab Food Minister Samiullah Ch, Ex MD Passco Muhammad Khan Khichi along with Food Minister at KPK Qalandar Lokdi were held responsible for wheat crisis in the country.

Similarly, Ex-Secretary Food in Punjab Naseem Sadiq and Ex-Director Food Department Dr Zafar Iqbal and Ex-Food Secretary in KPK Akbar Khan along with Ex-Director Food Department Saadat Hussein were involved in the crisis, todaynewz reported.

An Inquiry Commission on Wheat/Flour held responsible present Punjab Food Minister, Federal Secretary Food and former top officials at provincial food ministries and departments in Punjab and KPK and Ex-MD Passco and officials of food ministry and department from Sindh was held responsible in the inquiry report.

A three-member Inquiry Commission on Wheat/Flour Controversy has given a clean chit to all the flour millers just post audit of the millers for any wrong practices whereas held responsible top officials at the federal and provincial food ministries along with provincial food departments for failing to meet procurement targets and failed to devise a mechanism for regulating demand and supply of the wheat.

The commission constituted by Prime Minister, Imran Khan on Jan 22 comprising all three PSP officials from FIA, IB and ACE by tasking to identify and fix responsibility that lead to wheat flour shortage, jump in flour prices and allowing export of wheat in the prevailing situation.

A 23-page report summed up with its findings that the failure of wheat procurement targets, misleading to federal government over exact wheat situation and continuation of wheat exports and its products and failing to timely wheat imports is solely secretary food security, Hashim Popalzai and Ex MD, Passco Muhammad Khan Khichi.

The report also held responsible ex secretary food, Punjab, Naseem Sadiq and Ex Director Food Department, Dr Zafar Iqbal whereas Punjab Food Minister, Samiullah Ch is also responsible for not devising any reform agenda.

About the profiteering of flourmillers in Punjab, the report just recommended a post audit of the millers for their involvement in malpractices.

The responsibility for failure of procuring wheat in Sindh cannot be fixed individually as the decision on summary for wheat procurement was not taken by the Cabinet whereas in KPK, for failing to procure wheat in the province, the responsibility lies with Ex Secretary Food, Akbar Khan and Ex Director Food Department, Saadat Hussain and Minister for Food, Qalandar Lodhi.

The report in its recommendations to Federal Food Ministry said that the Ministry should have a mechanism to monitor export of wheat and wheat products by the private sector for proper assessment of the situation and the requirement of any intervention.

Similarly, the provincial governments and food departments should address the issue of debt accumulation for wheat procurement and stocking and post audit of the flourmills of grinding public wheat and quota of public wheat to flourmills should be based on population rather on capacity of mills, the report concludes.

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