After every disaster that hits Pakistan, aid starts pouring in not only from local philanthropists and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), but also from international donors. It happened after the devastating earthquake in Azad Kashmir in 2005. The mighty floods of 2010 jolted the international community again. Then came the 2020-21 Covid pandemic, and the current floods in the wake of an unprecedented monsoon season have put the global community on the alert yet again.
There have been many commitments made by various countries and relief organisations, and even local players are claiming to have generated billions of rupees in donations. All this is in addition to another set of billions that the government and its agencies have announced for relief activity. Even if one adds up the amounts mentioned in media headlines, it will surely run up to some astounding total. Where does all this money go? Apparently, nobody knows for sure just as nobody knows for sure where and on what exactly the aid was spent in earlier episodes.
National calamities lead to international sympathy due to the severity of the tragedy and the consequent loss of life and livelihoods. Heart-wrenching photographs capture the scale of the misery like little else. The accompanying image [related to the Jaffarabad area of Balochistan (Sept 1) and snapped up by an international wire service photographer] is a case in point. It haunts and it works. Aid starts flowing in not just for immediate relief, like tents, food, water, etc., but mostly for reconstruction and rehabilitation of the victims.
I have tried but failed to find the information about where all this money was spent and which government agency was assigned the task of keeping the accounts and to ensure proper utilisation.
It is time that some trusted agency was given the task to oversee the whole process in order to avoid mis-appropriation of the donations and to ensure their proper utilisation. Moreover, the office of the auditor-general should step in to audit all the accounts, including the amount received through telethon or such other platforms.
This is essential because after every catastrophe there have been accusations of misappropriation of funds and certain people getting rich overnight. Let us try not to have such accusations or audit objections this time.
At least this much we owe to the donors.
MALIK UL QUDDOOS
KARACHI
