Senate panel regrets no clarity over flood aid utilisation despite 11 meetings

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Division (EAD) expressed shock after receiving no clarity regarding the utilisation of aid received for the 2022 floods, despite holding 11 meetings on the subject.

The chairman of the committee, Senator Saifullah Abro, said they wanted to know where the grants were actually spent in flood-hit areas. “After 11 meetings on the issue no briefing from Sindh and Balochistan has been given to us on the utilisation of grants received under these projects,” Saifullah Abro said. He quoted the auditor general of Pakistan’s report that 102 people in Sanghar and Dadu received 42,000 tents for shelter during the floods. How did 102 people receive 42,000 tents? he questioned.

The committee questioned where the European Union (EU) grants were utilised in Balochistan, but there was no representative from the province to explain it.

While reviewing all the ongoing projects of Punjab government under multilateral and bilateral partners, as well as UN agencies, the committee expressed dissatisfaction with the briefing provided by the representatives of the Government of Punjab and deferred the matter for further discussion in the next meeting. Senator Saifullah Abro highlighted the disparity in aid distribution during the 2022 floods, where some received tents and rations while others suffered complete devastation. He asserted that this issue must be addressed with the chief secretary of Sindh and suggested summoning him in the next meeting. He also expressed serious concerns over the absence of the secretary, planning and development department, Sindh province, and the omission of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from the fund allocation briefing.

The secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, assured the committee of their commitment to transparency, but acknowledged that the ministry lacks administrative control over other ministries, which hampers implementation. The committee was also briefed on the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of the Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project (SFERP).

Officials reported that a significant portion of the projects had been completed, with a 90 per cent completion status. The chairman and committee members appreciated the progress but called for an update on the project’s tendering process in the next committee meeting.

Senator Saifullah Abro further pointed out that Jacobabad and Kashmore were excluded from the flood mitigation plan by the Work and Services Department, just as they had been overlooked during the 2010 floods.