The Enthronement: RTI Bares KP Sports Directorate Corruption

musarrat ullah jan -

 

Musarrat Ullah Jan – KikxNow .Digital Creator

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Sports Directorate is at a crossroads. While prospects for budding sportspeople are diminishing, corruption, malpractices, and back-door contracts with government officials are coming to light. The Right to Information (RTI) Act is turning out to be the game-changer in baring these secrets.

For the last one year, many RTI applications submitted by Kikxnow have been rejected outright, responded to evasively, or given vague answers by the Sports Directorate. Some districts have actually conceded that the respective files do not exist, while others have canceled requests as "inappropriate."

Circles in the sporting fraternity claim that "RTI can lift the veil on all the corruption that has been hidden over the last decade. This is precisely why institutions are reluctant to provide transparent answers." The Anti-Corruption Department, in May 2024, had issued a 27-point questionnaire to the Sports Directorate, requesting from 2013 to 2023 "sports ground projects," "funds paid to players," "salaries," "contracts," and "purchases." Six months have elapsed since then, yet no full response has been forthcoming.

Key questions remain unanswered: How many sports events took place in the last 10 years, and what was the budget spent on them? Which officer or group established a private company to secure Sports Directorate projects without adhering to KPRA/KPPRA rules? Where is the data on players and expenses for the "fake tournaments" held in various districts? Why is original data regarding the existence, personnel, and activities of sports offices in consolidated districts not being released?

Millions of rupees worth of sports projects were allocated without tenders or open bidding. "Direct work" has been said to be taken as an excuse to patronize particular companies. As per sportsmen from different districts, "We ourselves organized football and bodybuilding competitions, but the money is being diverted elsewhere. District Sports Officers (DSOs) of some districts only attend others' events to distribute a trophy and wash their hands of it. RTI is our savior, but officials are evading."

The Way Ahead: Calls for Transparence

In order to ensure these serious issues are redressed, swift action is imperative:

There should be immediate and full responses to every RTI request.

There should be a public inquiry commission to probe into the expenditure, appointments, and projects done from 2013 to 2023.

Officers who carried out business with the Directorate using their own companies should be made public, together with their possessions. This entails exposing how much property they bought, how often they went abroad, and how many times they changed cars during their time in office.

RTI is not a crime but a right that intends to make the government transparent, accountable, and free from corruption. When institutions fail to respond, it is the strongest evidence that something is wrong.

 

#KPSportsScandal #RTIPakistan #SportsCorruption #TransparencyNow #AccountabilityMatters #KPKGovernment #InvestigateSports

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