The World Bank has expressed its strong displeasure over the transfer of funds from a housing program worth billions of rupees for the flood-affected population in Balochistan to infrastructure projects, warning that this move could further increase poverty in Balochistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to media reports, the World Bank has said in a detailed letter sent to the federal and Balochistan governments that given the socio-economic situation of the families, the risk is not only that these families will be deprived of housing assistance, but also that their pre-existing weaknesses will reinforce each other and the situation will worsen over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the World Bank, 84 percent of eligible beneficiaries belong to the extremely poor and vulnerable groups, 28 percent of whom have a monthly income of less than $30, while another 26 percent have an income between $31 and $70 per month. Among these families, 39 percent are tenants, 37 percent are daily wage laborers, and 8 percent are small farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Bank says that these groups generally have limited savings, low access to formal credit, negligible productive assets, and little capacity to withstand sudden economic or natural shocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the decision to limit housing assistance to 62,966 beneficiaries in the first phase and to limit subsidy assistance to 97,000 families by June 22, 2026, World Bank Country Director Bolorma Amgaabazar met with the Federal Minister for Planning, Chief Minister Balochistan and other officials and expressed concern over the decision as well as the mechanism for dealing with issues related to fraud and corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Country Director Bolorma Amgaabazar said in a letter to the secretaries of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Planning as well as the Chief Secretary of Balochistan that as a result of limiting housing assistance and transferring its funds to other places, 119,049 verified and eligible families have been left without any financial assistance arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that making the decision public before a joint communication strategy with the World Bank had been agreed upon also created risks, as families who had been verified and had signed the necessary project documents could still expect to receive housing assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the World Bank, 66,120 complaints had been registered in the project management system by the deadline, so each complainant should be contacted individually and informed of the decision on a regular basis. Amgaabazar wrote that after informing each eligible person in writing, proof should be obtained that the information has reached the relevant person, and this evidence should be shared with the World Bank for review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that a reliable and transparent grievance redressal system is essential to mitigate legal, administrative and reputational risks during the final completion of this part of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Bank warned that the reduction in housing assistance could leave families who are left behind in a vicious cycle of vulnerability that could perpetuate poverty, increase disaster risks, and undermine long-term recovery and stability. This would also undermine the very objectives for which the program was launched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the World Bank, families with limited resources may be forced to spend income on basic needs such as food, health, and education on the ongoing repair of temporary shelters, and some may even be forced to borrow or sell their productive assets to cope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, families who are unable to rebuild strong, disaster-resistant homes will be forced to live in damaged or unsafe homes, making them more vulnerable to future floods, storms, earthquakes, and extreme heat waves. According to the World Bank, excluding verified and eligible beneficiaries from assistance can lead to grievances, inequities, and feelings of injustice, which is likely to further erode public trust in government institutions and development programs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The World Bank has expressed its strong displeasure over the transfer of funds from a housing program worth billions of rupees for the flood-affected population in Balochistan to infrastructure projects, warning that this move could further increase poverty in Balochistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2565,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[43,325,40,34,46,37,242],"class_list":["post-2564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan","tag-balochistan","tag-flood","tag-government-of-pakistan","tag-pakistan","tag-pakistan-army","tag-pok","tag-world-bank"],"yoast_head":"\n