Better handling must for the business of giving

LAHORE: Pakistan government is mostly financing the war against coronavirus with the next highest contribution from the salaried class. The corporate sector has largely disappointed, while corporate India has till date helped their government with a contribution of $1.320 billion.

Corporate Pakistan has largely disappointed the nation at a time when we are facing the most daunting health challenge in our country. The largest contribution of Rs1 billion to the government’s Coronavirus Fund came from Hussain Dawood.

There is no other corporate sector entity that equals even half this amount. The other worth mentioning contributions came from Lever Brothers’ with Rs200 million in kind, Gohar Ejaz of Lake City with Rs350 million for distribution of food to poor in Punjab.

The contribution in Coronavirus Fund have not yet crossed Rs10 billion and most of it is from the salaried class, overseas Pakistanis, among whom, British Pakistani boxer Amir Khan announced Rs40 million for this fund. Dawood is perhaps the only corporate sector exception.

The response of the Indian corporate sector should be an eye-opener for our corporate sector. Among the main contributors, Tata Sons and Tata Trusts contributed Indian rupees (INR) 15 billion equivalent to Pakistani Rs31 billion.

Wipro Group and Azim Premji Foundation committed INR11.25, e. Oil joint ventures under the Ministry of Petroleum pledged INR10.92.29 billion. Reliance Industries contributed INR5 billion towards PM CARES.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma's Paytm pledged INR5 billion. Coal India pledged INR2.20 billion, Larsen & Toubro INR1.50 billion, ITC each pledged INR1.50 billion. HDFC Group also committed INR1.50 billion.

Over 12 corporate entities pledged INR1 billion each. These contributions in Pakistani currency amount to Rs239 billion. Indian population is seven times larger than Pakistan, but their corporate contribution in this calamity is 24 times larger.

Individual contributions in India are also proportionately higher than those made in Pakistan. This does not mean that the private sector is not contributing to the cause. Their efforts are unorganised based on individual contributions that they have also made in the past during national calamities or in the holy month of Ramazan.

This time around the challenge and the needs are entirely different. In the past, they distributed alms to the poor by mostly inviting them at a designated place that most of the times created commotion.

Moreover, the distribution was lopsided as number of individuals from the same family succeeded in obtaining the relief package much above their actual needs. Those who were unable to penetrate through the rush went home empty handed.

Another drawback in this type of donation was that it hurt the self-respect of the recipients. Many deserving families having self-respect never went to seek these charities and despite need remained deprived. Their sincere efforts for the wellbeing of the poor might have backfired, as the virus could have spread even further.

The current situation demands seclusion and charity has to be distributed at the doorstep of the recipient. The number of deserving families is many times more than normal times. Efforts are required under a centralised plan. If the philanthropists do not trust the government then they should at least ask the authorities to provide them with the list of deserving people they have identified, and make a pledge to care for them as long as the pandemic lasts.

They would have to serve the people at their door step. Even our officials are not following the requirement of lockdown. A large crowd gathered at the gate of Punjab Governor House the other day on a rumour that food packages would be delivered to the poor. Law enforcing agencies should not have allowed such large number of people at one site.

Even one affected patient in the crowd might have spread the virus in many. It is because of this carefree attitude of the authorities that the number of coronavirus cases is increasing at an alarming rate in Punjab.

This pandemic is an opportunity for the distribution of charities. After the pandemic is controlled the data compiled by the government should be widely shared with all charitable organisations and corporate sector.

It should be updated periodically by each one of them, removing the names of those who wriggled out of poverty and inserting the data of those that fell in to poverty. This data should be maintained by the central authority. The charity from now on should be distributed at the doorstep of the needy discretely without hurting their self-respect.