WE know that the government has no mechanism for distributing Rs200 billion among deserving people who are affected by the lockdown.

The distribution of funds will be an uphill task for the government because it has no data of the daily wage earners. It will be better if the government provided the said amount to hospitals for buying medical equipment and establishing quarantine centres in every district.

The government should ask philanthropists to give charity to the underprivileged. Each person should take responsibility for a daily wage earner living nearby who has no money for food.

A study conducted by Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy shows that Pakistanis give about Rs240 billion annually in charity. If we can give such a huge amount in charity in normal circumstances, we can give more in these trying times.

The government is seeking aid from the international donor agencies as it faces financial constraints. The government needs to generate more resources to maintain its economy, but in the prevailing situation it is not possible.

I would suggest to the government to launch a new retirement policy for government employees. Those who are on encashment, or are 58 to 59 years of age may immediately be retired so that the double salary being given on account of encashment to the employees can be saved and that amount is used for maintaining the economy.

There is no logic in paying a double salary to those employees who are on encashment and are exempt too from attending the office owing to coronavirus outbreak.

The honorarium usually given to all government employees ideally in months of April to June should be stopped immediately so that extra funds can be used for coronavirus patients. Government employees should draw this time only the salary, while the rest of extra funds of ministries, attached departments and autonomous departments should be surrendered to the government.

There are a number of farm houses in Islamabad which were purposely allotted to people for producing fruit and vegetables for Islamabad’s population. But these farm houses have not been used for that purpose so far.

Therefore, all such agricultural farms should be converted into quarantine centres temporarily.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, the government employees have been locked in their homes instead of attending their offices. A pool of government employee should be made under the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Employees less than 35 years of age should be engaged in some work as required or suggested by the NDMA.

Meher Azeem Hakro

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2020