‘Special system to ensure transparency in spending private sector donations’

Islamabad : Within the next three months, the federal government will launch an institutional arrangement that will allow the corporate and private sectors to connect with Ehsaas.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr. Sania Nishtar made this announcement while addressing as chief guest here at the inauguration of 12th Annual CSR Summit-2020 organised by the National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH).

Dr. Sania said she had been advising philanthropists associated with the country’s corporate sector and willing to donate for Ehsaas to wait for another three months to let this special purpose vehicle be launched, allowing the government to receive donations from the private sector and spend them with utmost integrity and honesty.

Dr. Sania said, a web portal would be launched under the proposed arrangement to let the private sector know well as in what manner each of the penny of the philanthropic donations would be spent for the welfare of individuals and for benefit of several components of Ehsaas. A policy was also being formalized to offer incentives to the corporate sector on institutionalized basis to do philanthropy.

Dr. Nishtar said she is well aware of the importance of the private and corporate sectors as without them the government alone cannot carry out such tasks like poverty alleviation and social protection of deprived masses.

Research Fellow at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute Dr. Shafqat Muneer said that the philanthropic contributions being provided by Pakistanis as a nation had always been outstanding as Rs500 billion was being spent annually in the country as charitable donations. He said that these charitable donations would increase manifold if proper policy was introduced binding upon the corporate sector to do CSR contributions. He noted that at present, only companies associated with the petroleum industry are bound to spend one percent of their annual profit on CSR activities while there is no similar lawful condition for any other industry in the country.

In his welcome address, NFEH President Naeem Qureshi said that the CSR Summit has been organized to discuss and appreciate the excellent efforts being put in by the corporate sector for the welfare and uplift of the disadvantaged.