Action sought against bureaucrat for delaying WB grant disbursement

PESHAWAR: The business community on Friday urged the provincial government to initiate action against the bureaucrat who allegedly caused delay in the payment of World Bank grants to the militancy and flood-affected small and medium size businesses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
Speaking at the function held at the Chamber House for the distribution of cheques of grants under the Economic Revitalisation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata (ERKF) project, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KPCCI) President Fuad Ishaq sought probe against a former secretary Industries for what he called launching baseless inquiries into the disbursement of the grants to militancy and 2010 flood-ravaged businesses in the province and Fata.
Special assistant to the chief minister on industries Abdul Monem Khan, who was chief guest at the function, assured the business community that he would take up the matter with the competent authority and address the concerns of the affected businesses due to the delay in the payment of grants. About 25 crisis-affected SMEs were jointly given cheques worth Rs15 million by the president KPCCI and chief minister’s special assistant as grant during the function.
The $14 million SMEs’ development is the major component of the ERKF that is being financed by the World Bank through the $20 million grant of the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF). The affected SMEs identified in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were supposed to get $9.1 million while $4.9 million were to be spent in Fata on the revitalisation and development of the SMEs.
However, the disbursements under the project were stopped in April, 2014 and around 157 grant cheques to various flood and militancy-hit SMEs had been withheld after the then secretary industries, Muhammad Ali Shahzada, personally probed cases seeking grants under the SMEs component of the ERKF and raised objections to various counts.
He also took up the matter with the federal government, SMEDA Islamabad in person and with the World Bank through a letter. The ex-secretary later sent 39 cases of grant to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
In response to the observations made by secretary, the World Bank Operations Advisor for Pakistan, Reynold Duncan, in a letter on September 3, 2014 addressed to Muhammad Ali Shahzada said that funded entirely by MDTF for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata and Balochistan, the ERKF was doing well and it has already exceeded its performance targets under the SMEs development component by disbursing grants to 887 SMEs across Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as of June 15, 2014.
Later, the provincial government approached the NAB to take back the matter related to the ERKF grant cases and two internal inquiries were also conducted under the directives of the chief minister and chief secretary of the province to probe the allegation.
Both the inquiries cleared the project of the allegations and allowed the quarters concerned to resume the disbursement of grant to the militancy and flood-affected SMEs in the province and Fata.
Fuad Ishaq informed that the project was launched in May 2012 and till June 2014 a total of 1,260 SMEs were issued grants for more than Rs.1 billion though it was initially designed to provide grant to about 850 SMEs.
He asked the SMEDA and provincial government to expedite the grant disbarment to the 157 SMEs whose cases were long pending as the matter was settled after the inquires and the NAB was also approached to return the cases sent to it by former secretary industries department.