Pakistan’s Urgent Struggle to Utilize Donor Funding for Flood Projects

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Pakistan is grappling with a significant disparity in utilizing donor funding for flood-related projects. Shockingly, only 29.4 percent of the pledged amount has been utilized, with Balochistan, in particular, lagging behind at a mere 1.7 percent of the allocated funds for flood projects.

Sindh, the second largest province in the country, achieved financial progress of 41.2 per cent, utilizing $805.7 million out of the allocated funds of $1.658 billion for flood-related projects. However, there are concerns about the overall achievement of spending the pledged amounts effectively.

Only 29.4 per cent of the $3.367 billion pledged by international and local donors has been utilized, amounting to $1.091 billion. The federal government, in particular, has only utilized $258.89 million of the allocated funds of $829.4 million for flood projects.

Punjab is the only province to have utilized 100 per cent of the total donor-funded amount, which stands at $2.8 million. However, no local funding was earmarked for flood-related projects in Punjab. The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has achieved financial progress of only 3.5 per cent, utilizing $16.82 million out of the allocated funds of $468 million.

In response to this challenging situation, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema chaired the 4th meeting of the International Partners Support Group (IPSG). The IPSG plays a crucial role in coordinating the Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Framework (4RF), assisting in plan development, securing financial commitments, providing guidance, and addressing funding gaps.

The minister emphasized provincial cooperation and reiterated the commitment to transparency in implementing 4RF projects, as pledged by the prime minister in the previous IPSG meeting. He also highlighted the pledges made at the “International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan,” where the international community pledged US$10.987 billion, of which US$2.8 billion has been disbursed up to April 2024.

Pakistan must address the challenges of effectively utilizing donor funding for flood projects to ensure the successful recovery and reconstruction of the affected areas.