Sensing the gravity of the situation, the Sindh government has been ordered to mobilise local and international public and private firms for rehabilitating over 9 million people displaced by floods. Following last year’s flood, the pledges and commitments made by all donor agencies remained unfulfilled as local and international firms lack trust in the administration, said the sources.
They said this year, too, local and international donors do not seem interested in helping the flood survivors for the same reason. In this regard, President Asif Ali Zardari has ordered the Sindh government to stop waiting for aid and to take concrete measures for mobilising local and international organisations for rehabilitating the flood-hit areas, the sources added.
They said international donors are uncertain of providing financial assistance due to no proper implementation mechanism and alleged mismanagement by the local administrations of the flood-hit districts. They also said the provincial government would mobilise the private sector through infrastructure investment under the public-private partnership like it did at the time of constructing the Hyderabad-Mirpurkhas highway with a share of 33 percent.
Besides, they added, civil society organisations would also be awarded contracts for developing the flood-hit districts. Sources said Sindh is already facing serious challenges of poverty, unemployment, water shortage and its inefficient use, energy shortage, dual economy, poor road communication, and human resources.
And now, they added, the large-scale flood devastation has displaced over 9 million people as well as destroyed crops on hundreds of thousands of acres. They said a lot of things need immediate attention to ensure proper rehabilitation of the flood survivors as soon as possible, such as pumping out accumulated rainwater, dewatering agricultural fields, repairing canals and watercourses, restoring road structures, clearing sludge, fumigating the affected areas, and providing potable water, dry ration and fodder.
