Six months after: Funds remain unused, survivors still shelterless

National Oversight Disaster Management Council proves ineffective; PM’s Rs6.6b fund stands unutilised.

ISLAMABAD: While four million flood survivors are still homeless and the conditions in flood-hit areas remain grim as people return to “almost nothing,” funds in excess of Rs6.6 billion in the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund stay unutilised.

In a statement released on Saturday, the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) said that six months after the catastrophe hit one-fifth of Pakistan over four million people are still without shelter. According to the IFRC, “families remain in desperate condition without adequate shelter and floodwaters still engulf huge areas of land in Sindh”.

The IFRC is working in Pakistan to provide assistance to over two million flood survivors and currently their appeal for funds is only 59 per cent covered.

On the other hand, a significant sum of money in the PM’s fund remains unutilised due to what an official described as an “unassertive role” of the National Oversight Disaster Management Council – a body assigned to look after donations and ensure transparent utilisation.

After the international community raised concerns over transparent use of their donations, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani constituted a 15-member Oversight Council to allay the concerns of the opposition and the international community. UAG Isani was made head of the council.

But four months have passed and the NODMC remains unable to give a comprehensive policy for implementation to the provinces and federal government, said an official of the National Disaster Management Authority, on condition of anonymity. So far, the NODMC has held four meetings.

Donors and local government departments, business bodies and wealthy individuals have contributed slightly over Rs6.6 billion to the PM’s Flood Relief Fund, show official statistics. An amount of Rs69.3 million was collected from Sindh, Rs35.6 million from Punjab, Rs4 million from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while Khyber-Pakthunkhwa contributed Rs2.2 million and Balochistan Rs867,000.  The major chunk, Rs6.5 billion, was handed over to the premier directly.

The NDMA official said that, during the emergency phase, tents fell short of demand. The authority (NDMA) requested for money from the PM’s Flood Relief Fund, but the council was unable to give provide them.

The NODMC head, UAG Isani, could not be reached for comments.

A former Cabinet Division secretary said that the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund has not been used as yet, as the NODMC has the authority to sanction this money, which lies with the Cabinet Division. He, however, said that the NDMA was given funds by the Finance Ministry to buy tents. The incumbent Secretary Cabinet Division, Nargis Sathi was not available for comments either.

The NDMA also said that money could be used from the President’s Earthquake Relief Fund, the official said, but “the Cabinet Division replied that the money was meant for earthquake-related activities and cannot be used to buy tents.

The President’s Earthquake Fund was established in 2005 after the October 8 earthquake, which killed over 73,000 people and caused losses worth billions of dollars to the infrastructure. Five years later, approximately Rs1 billion is lying in the coffers.

An official of the Prime Minister Secretariat said, so far, the NODMC has not been able to devise a strategy to make best use of the PM’s flood relief fund. The council has also not worked out a formula on how to distribute money among the provinces, the official added.

Meanwhile, Gocha Guchas-hvili, IFRC flood operations coordinator in Pakistan, says that people have endured miserable conditions and they are returning home to “almost nothing”.

“The attention of the world has moved on and much more will be needed to help people get back on their feet. Food security remains a major concern and support from the international community is vital. Without it, the survivors of this crisis will slide further into poverty,” said Guchashvili.

Published in The  Express Tribune, January 23^rd,  2011.