PESHAWAR: The militancy-affected traders here have accused the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) of misappropriating the WB-sponsored grant of Rs2 billion meant for rehabilitation of the business community, and demanded of the National Accountability Bureau to probe into the matter.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, Tajir Ittehad University Road, Peshawar, president Kifayatullah Durrani said that the multi-donor Economic Revitalisation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata (ERKF) funds were meant for rehabilitation of the terrorism-affected business community of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata, but the affected people were not supported so far.

Flanked by the Ittehad’s general secretary Aslam Khan and senior vice-president Yousuf Khan Khalil, he said that Smeda should have publicised the grant so that the affected people could benefit from it, but it did not inform the affected people.

Mr Durrani said that the Smeda officials did not have the record as to who had come first and availed of the funds. He said that traders of the University Road had submitted 250 applications, but they were not considered for assistance so far.

Seek NAB probe into use of Rs2bn ERKF funds

He alleged that of over 8,000 applications submitted to Smeda, about 800 were considered on the basis of personal relationship.

One Dilawar Khan said that he had sustained injuries in a bomb blast at Azam Tower, while two of his workers were killed and twenty shops damaged, but the government was yet to support them financially. He alleged that huge funds were distributed among blue-eyed people of the Smeda officials and the affected people were ignored.

Mr Khalil described Smeda as ‘Khattak enterprises’, claiming its head Javaid Khattak had appointed his brothers on key posts and was distributing the funds at his free will.

When contacted, Smeda’s provincial chief Javaid Khattak said that the funds were meant for rehabilitation and not for upgradation. He said that the applicants did not fulfil the required criteria.

The applications submitted to Smeda, he said, were for upgradation which had the requirement that the applicants would pay 50 per cent matching share for release of the funds.

He claimed that Smeda had no role in release of the funds, saying that two independent bodies comprising representatives of various departments, including Fata Secretariat, World Bank and provincial governments, had been monitoring the process.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2014