Dam bonds

Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged Pakistanis to donate generously to the dam fund. He has warned that Pakistan can face famine-like conditions by 2025 if dams are not built in a timely manner. To attract more people to donate for the dam, the government should consider issuing Basha Dam or Mohmand Dam redeemable bonds of $100 each. Back in the 1990s, on a visit to the Tarbela Dam, the tour guide there told us that the payback period for the dam was just three years. So if we assume that the Mohmand Dam is completed by 2025 and the payback period is over by 2028, the people who have contributed would have the option to redeem the bonds at that time. If they choose not to redeem the bonds, they would continue to get return as is the case with Defence Saving Certificates. This way people will feel that besides contributing to a national cause, they are getting some benefit in return. This way the country would get money when it needs it the most. And when the dams are completed, people would get something in return.

Syed Hussein El-Edroos

Islamabad