WHILE Pakistan has endured two back-to-back years of intense flooding, mismanagement continues to mark rehabilitation efforts at both the state and private levels. As reported in this paper on Saturday, a lack of coordination between the government and NGOs in rain-affected parts of Jamshoro district in Sindh has resulted in the duplication of relief projects. Apparently, NGOs did not share their plans with the state, which is why several organisations have been working on identical projects. The report adds that the state's response in relief efforts has also been far from satisfactory. In a similar vein, the Sindh minister for Zakat and Ushr told the provincial assembly during question hour recently that over Rs3.6bn meant for the reconstruction of houses for victims of the 2010 floods remained unspent. He told the House that "modalities for the construction of houses" were still being worked out, despite the fact that it has been a year and a half since floodwaters first raged through Sindh. In this regard, the Sindh chief minister reportedly told flood victims to "be patient". Patience is indeed a virtue, yet failure to build the houses despite the passage of such a lengthy period of time and the availability of funds is enough to try anyone's patience.

This attitude of the state is not new as several months after 2010's floods initially struck, there were millions of dollars reportedly lying unused in the prime minister's fund. We complain - and perhaps rightly so - when the world fails to loosen its purse strings for us in times of trouble. Yet when funds are clearly available we fail to put them to good use mainly due to the haphazard manner in which the state conducts its affairs. Along with the state, NGOs should declare the amount of funds that have been raised for the flood victims in 2010 and 2011, as well as details of where and how these funds have been spent. Ultimately, much better coordination needs to exist between the state and the private sector immediately after a disaster has taken place as well as in the long run to ensure transparency and effective rehabilitation of victims.