KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Information Syed Nasir Hussain Shah on Friday said that transparency in the use of the Corona Emergency Relief Fund was being fully ensured and the concerns of the Supreme Court (SC) would be addressed with full explanation and record in the next hearing.
In a statement, the minister said that a highly credible committee comprising of Dr Abdul Bari Khan, Mushtaq Chhapra and Faisal Edhi, as well as Sindh chief secretary and secretary finance, was looking after all the matters related to the expenditure of this fund.
He said that all the money raised in the fund would be spent on assisting all deserving people who had been affected by the lock down. Shah said that all the funds released so far had been given to the deputy commissioner so that they could ensure the distribution of rations to all the needy people in their respective districts. External and internal audits had also been arranged to maintain transparency of all funding expenditures, he added.
The minister said that the people of the province should believe that every single penny of the relief fund would be spent in a very transparent manner.
Shah said that the apex court had been fully apprised about the amount donated in the emergency relief fund and the expenses incurred in this fund through Sindh advocate general, adding that, further details would be submitted in the SC in the next hearing.
“The Sindh government is grateful to all those who generously donated donations to the Corona Emergency Relief Fund,” the minister said, adding that it was the people’s confidence in the provincial government that they donated so generously.
Shah further said that the Sindh government was well aware of all the people who had been affected by the lockdown, and for this reason the Sindh government was in constant contact with the businessmen, adding that, soon they would come to a unanimous solution.
He said that in a couple of days, businessmen would meet Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, adding that, various proposals were under consideration about opening of the businesses, which would be finalised after consultations.
He said that the clerics and all the religous scholars were also being approached to seek guidance regarding congregational prayers in the mosques. He also said that the most important issue at this moment in time was the health and lives of the people.
The minister said that if other governments had adopted appropriate measures like the Sindh government right from the beginning, the results would have been different today.
He said that if like Sindh government, all the governments of other provinces, including the federal government, had declared all the necessary standard operating procedures (SOPs) from the very beginning and had implemented strict lockdown right from day one when the first patient of coronavirus emerged, then certainly today the number of people affected by coronavirus would not have been so high.
Shah said that it was satisfactory to know that the tests of 2,452 persons who belonged to the Tableeghi Jamaat came out negative. “There are 437 persons belonging to the Tableeghi Jamaat who were found to be infected with coronavirus,” the minister said, adding that all those whose tests had come out negative would be sent to their homes soon in accordance with the health advisory.
He said that all these persons would also be given certificates by the deputy commissioner before they leave for their homes. Shah said that all these members of the Tableeghi Jamaat would have to quarantine themselves for 14 days in their homes, and in the meantime, they would also ensure social distancing from their family members.
