Thar drought: Bilawal issues show cause notice to Qaim Ali Shah, Manzoor Wassan

Goods and services worth billions for the poor stolen and misappropriated

KARACHI:

With the drought in Tharparkar making headlines, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has issued show cause notices to Sindh Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah and provincial Deputy Secretary General, Manzoor Hussain Wassan, over mishandling of the crisis in Tharparkar.

The show cause notices come amidst mounting criticism of the PPP provincial government’s handling of the drought situation which has so far claimed 470 lives over the past three years, including over 300 of children under the age of 7.

Shah, who is also the provincial president of the party and Wassan, a senior provincial minister, have been asked to submit a written reply after media reports leaked findings of an inquiry report compiled by Wassan and commissioned by PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari.

The report, prepared by the anti-corruption department, has investigated stories of embezzlement and corruption in the handling of the Tharparkar drought response and reportedly exposed massive irregularities and negligence by various government departments.

As a result of its findings the report recommends severe action against the district administration, health department, livestock department, food department, provincial disaster management authority, relief commissioner and finance department.



Talking to The Express Tribune, Manzoor Wasan said that he has finalized the report and would submit the report to Asif Ali Zardari soon. “I don’t want to comment on it before making it public,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement issued on Thursday, Bilawal House spokesperson Aijaz Durrani has rejected the report, saying that its findings are premature. He said that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is personally monitoring the Tharparkar situation and detailed investigations are presently underway to ascertain responsibility.

Non-existent health facilities

The report further highlights the deplorable condition of public health in the district. It states that “as per government record there are 110 dispensaries, but none of them are functional. One trauma centre in Diplo and a maternity home at Mithi have been non-functional.”

It adds that while Civil Hospital Mithi has comparatively better facilities, it is insufficient to meet the huge number of patients especially children. Further, the Rs50 million budget allocated for district health officers in Mithi during 2013-14, has been misused by purchasing furniture and other articles, the report adds.

The report further notes that 21,000 mineral water bottles were provided to DC Mithi but only 9,000 were distributed. 12,000 bottles stocked at the Benazir Culture Complex were distributed amogst drought victims after the expiry date on the bottles.

Similarly, 1,050 RO plants were funded to convert saline water into sweet, but only 70 RO plants are presently functional.

In what amounts to shocking revelations about the lack of accountability and negligence by various government functionaries, the report highlights that five fully equipped mobile medical dispensaries worth Rs250 million were imported from Japan. One mobile medical dispensary was being used as an air conditioned car by the Deputy Commissioner Tharparkar. Two dispensaries were handed over to Chhor Cantt and the lone dispensary at the Civil Hospital Mithi was in a dilapidated condition.

The report also highlights a number of incidences of embezzlement by district health officers and malpractice in procurement by senior provincial secretary.

The report lays blame on the relief commissioner, finance department and provincial disaster management authority for not providing timely wheat to drought victims, and recommends a third party survey in collaboration with NADRA to issue ration cards to drought victims.


Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2014.