All secretaries must be accountable to PAC, a constitutional body, and must attend its meetings in person to explain irregularities in the spending of public funds, the meeting resolved.

"We will work to bring transparency to public expenditure. Secretaries have to be accountable to the committee," said Harun Al Rashid, chairman of the JS body, emerging from the meeting.

"According to the committee decision, we will not allow representatives of secretaries at the meeting. Secretaries must attend the meeting,'' Khurram Khan Chowdhury, member of PAC, told The Daily Star yesterday.

"We will review expenditures of all the ministries, so secretaries must be present to explain the spending."

The comptroller and auditor general's (CAG) Office told the meeting that audit objections since 1972 involving Tk 24,000 crore waited before the committee for disposal.

PAC is the highest authority to dispose of audit objections.

Of the 799 audit reports submitted to eight parliaments since independence, PACs disposed of only 146 cases involving Tk 4,000 crore. The rest are lying in the committee's in tray for consideration.

PAC yesterday asked the CAG's office to submit brief synopses of different audit reports awaiting review.

The committee will take up audit reports on the communications and the meeting which was attended by members Prof Shajahan Mia, Khurram Khan Chowdhury, Dr Ziaul Hoq Mollah, Mosharraf Hossain, Moazzem Hossain Alal, Sultan Mahmud Babu and officials concerned.