PESHAWAR: The Auditor General's report for 2021-22 has termed the performance of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board (KPITB) disappointing in terms of digitisation of government departments.
According to the audit, the IT Board managed to digitise only 10 departments — including Higher Education and Local Government — within the given timeframe, despite receiving over Rs40 million in subsidies for IT companies. The report added that the board also failed to achieve its objectives of establishing IT parks.
In Peshawar’s IT Park, 57 companies were registered in 2015, but the number fell to 26 by 2021. Similarly, in Abbottabad’s IT Park, the 16 companies registered in 2015 saw no increase by 2021. The report highlighted that company revenues, which stood at Rs570 million in 2017, dropped to Rs289 million by 2021.
It further revealed that while the number of companies was expected to grow annually by 35%, poor management interest prevented this expansion. The board also failed to increase IT exports by 25% each year as originally targeted.
The audit noted that the IT Board could not develop an app for timely payments and recoveries, causing losses to both institutions and the public exchequer. Moreover, training contracts for tribal youth were awarded to a company owned by the board’s former managing director, while illegal recruitment of directors and deputy directors caused losses of Rs90 million.
The report recommended digitisation of all government departments to ensure transparency and timely decision-making. It also urged the government to review appointments in the IT Board strictly on merit and to launch a joint investigation into those responsible for making the board ineffective.