Pakistan

Advertising scam: Rs250m flood relief funds spent on ad campaigns

The Privatisation Commission has spent the majority of cash allocated for flood relief activities on advertisements.

June 19, 2011

ISLAMABAD: The Privatisation Commission has spent the majority of cash allocated for flood relief activities on advertisements, Express News has learnt.

An amount of Rs270 million was allocated for flood relief activities, but the commission spent Rs250 million on advertisements and just Rs10 million on relief.

The National Assembly's Standing Committee for Privatization has sought an explanation from Secretary Privatizaion over the issue.

The committee has asked the secretary to explain under which law an amount of Rs250 million, allocated for flood relief activities, has been spent on advertisements.

The Standing Committee meeting, which was presided over by chairman Malik Bilal Rehman, will take up the issue at its next meeting.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly quoted that Rs260 million was spent on ad campaigns for flood relief. The correct figure is Rs250 million, while sum total of expenditure was Rs260 million.

COMMENTS (19)

Muhammad Mehdi Raza | 13 years ago | Reply @ Anyonymous: You must be using different glasses than I am - calling this story a scam. Its not a scam as yet. Its a probe or an allegation at the most. If it was a scam ET would certainly have helped our cause by doing some investigation and coming up with something better than a single paragraph (that itself was revised).

Jeddy | 13 years ago | Reply Which advertising agency (agencies) benefited from this scam? How much did they give in kickbacks to the concerned officials in the government?

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Anonymous | 13 years ago | Reply It is just one scam that has been reported there must be many unreported ones. It is ridiculous!!!

Muhammad Mehdi Raza | 13 years ago | Reply This is probably the biggest news story of the year and ET could just manage a single paragraph on it. What happened to investigative reporting? The article doesn't explain a lot of things and if someone at ET actually reads the comments - here are my queries:

Why would the privatization commission spend on Flood Relief ? Was it some special fund allocated by them for the Flood Relief and later revoked ? Has ET learnt the news though the action taken by the standing committee? What sort of advertisements are we talking about here? Are there 'Flood Relief Ads' or ' Privatization Ads' ?

Rashid Khan | 13 years ago | Reply A sum of Rs260 millions spent on advertising and leaving Rs10 million for the actual relief defies logic is brazen and fearless corruption, the perpetuators are fully aware no one can touch them. There’ll be some noise for a few days and like everything else it will be forgotten. At least they didn’t disrobe the dead bodies of their ’kafaans’ (which in a sense it amounts to) because the accelerating pace and direction of corruption in the land of the pure at the present juncture foretell that days of the kind are in the offing.

Irfan S Chohdry | 13 years ago | Reply so it's national way to do it RIGHT

Hedgefunder | 13 years ago | Reply How can you expect Donar Nations to truat you???? This is an classic Example of what happens in Pakistan and there will be plenty of noises but no action taken against the culprits!!!! WaH !! So Much for Your Honour!!!!

Ali | 13 years ago | Reply Bring in Imran Khan. The country needs to get rid of this filth ASAP. The only light in the tunnel The 270 million should have gone to Imran Khan's Pukaar instead. These people are pathetic.

Haider | 13 years ago | Reply I didnt see advertisements of Rs 250 million

Shamsi Ajanee | 13 years ago | Reply Make public the name of the advertisement companies and the service rendered by them It is tax payers money and we need accountability

M | 13 years ago | Reply The irony is: the print campaigns were probably extolling the "achievements" of the government, or just plain ass thanking da prasi-dent for whatayy "great ladder" he is.

naeem khan | 13 years ago | Reply Please do us a favor by publishing the names of this Privatization Committee, they should be exposed to the nation and the world.Perhaps their neighbors could shun them or shame these shameless people. Is there anyone out there to do it.

Farrukh Mushtaq | 13 years ago | Reply How it is possible......96% of total amount was spent on advertisement and only 4% of total amount was spent on the purpose. Advertisement spendings means definitely major portion of amount given to media papers and channels. Is this amount was given to oblige some persons?......and authorities also earned their commissions.... shameful for us....share of deserving peoples was looted...No body will take action against these scams Committees are also scams.... authorities are scams and leaders are scams....Scam meetings will be held to pressurize authorities and for blackmailing for certain interests.....No Justice..... No accountability...

Hedgefunder | 13 years ago | Reply Which idiots and crooks were responsible for this? It s shows to the rest of the World that, the Aid and Financial Assistance provided by the International community has and will be blatantly Abused by the very people who go around the world with their Begging Bowls !!! Now the Pakistanis wonder as to Why the rest of the World don't trust them!!! They even steal from their own people, who are suffering due to this natural disaster!!!! Time Pakistanis hold their own people responsible for such acts and Hang them, it will help in long term!!!

Mrs Z Khan | 13 years ago | Reply I agree with 'much amused'. I too was baffled when I read about the Privatization Commission. Why couldn't the article have named the clowns behind this? If the government can't monitor a relatively small sum of Rs 290m, what hope is there for the economy - or the country. I'm glad I gave my donation to Oxfam.

asma riaz khan | 13 years ago | Reply If we can follow the Chinese way to deal with bahiman-hang them! most of our problems will be solved by themselves, without any cost to the treasury. A short cut to all that we brag about.

Concerned Citizen | 13 years ago | Reply Shame on the privatization commission for this Grand Theft of public money and also for its zero privatization since its attempted Grand Robbery in STEEL MILLS privatization in 2006.

Much amused | 13 years ago | Reply Everyone has their fingers in the pie. The administration will do nothing to punish this wanton loot as they are all involved. The politicians raising this issue are probably doing it out of pique as they did not get a slice of this pie. What on earth has the Privatisation Commission got to do with flood relief? Mind boggling.

Chilli | 13 years ago | Reply We cannot expect anything positive from Pakistan Pathetic Party.

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