After utilizing Rs 3.6 billion of the Coronavirus Emergency Fund (CEF) the Sindh government is left with no funds to tackle the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sindh finance department on Sunday released a report detailing utilization of money from Coronavirus Emergency Fund which showed that out of the total of Rs 3.64 billion that the province collected from 19 March to 30 June 2020, Rs 934.7 million is left.
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As soon as the coronavirus spread in the country, the provincial government established the Coronavirus Emergency Fund to fight the pandemic in the province. A high-level committee was formed, led by the Chief Secretary Sindh, Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah to manage the CEF funds properly.
To help compatriots in difficult times, public and private sectors bigheartedly donated to the Coronavirus Emergency Funds program to fight against the outbreak by assembling required resources.
As per the data released by Finance Department Sindh, the CEF committee had released Rs 133 million and Rs 30 million for the establishment of the field isolation centers at the PAF Museum and Expo Center respectively.
The allocation of funds had also been finalized by CEF, as Rs 2.05 billion for rapid procuring of vital medical equipment which included PCR testing kits, rapid testing kits, oxygen cylinders, PPE suits, surgical masks, N-95 masks, suction machines, defibrillators, BP apparatus, medicine, sanitizers, thermal guns and biohazard bags.
Apart from this, the committee also appointed an external auditor in order to fully monitor all the transactions to make sure transparency in the management of the fund. It had also made an agreement with the quality assurance company for the scrutiny of the crucial medical tools procured by the provincial health department.
Murtaza Wahab, the Chief Minister Sindh’s Law Advisor stated that the provincial government will discuss its plans regarding the Coronavirus Emergency Fund very soon once the CM recovers and resumes office.
