ISLAMABAD, May 24: The government seems to be indifferent to handling any disaster as the post of chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has been lying vacant for the last over one month.
Lt-Gen (retired) Nadeem Ahmad left the office on April 13 after submitting his resignation to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. According to reports, General Ahmad resigned due to his differences with the government over the working of the authority in accordance with the mandate given under the NDMA Act 2010.
According to NDMA officials, the prime minister secretariat had kept mum over filling of the position which was of crucial importance considering the frequency with which disasters, both natural and man-made, have hit the country in recent times.
Under the NDMA Act, besides an overseeing role the authority should also provide technical hand to all government departments at the federal and provincial levels involved in disaster management.
Moreover, the NDMA had been given the mandate to put in place guidelines for various government divisions, preparing them to deal with disasters such as floods, earthquakes, epidemics etc. However, its main role revolves around coordination in responses to events of threatening nature anywhere in the country.
“More than six weeks is a hell of time period to decide on such an important appointment by the government,” said an NDMA official who requested not to be named.
He added: “It has become a habit of the government to delay posting on important positions.” Questioning the government's indecisiveness, the official said can any developing or developed country afford keeping a similar public office unoccupied for such a long time.
General Ahmad's resignation had reached the prime minister secretariat on March 11 and he left the office on April 13, the official said. Meanwhile, the government has one month to decide whether it wanted to carry on with the sitting chairman or needed a new appointment. “But, I believe, the government has other important businesses to manage,” said the official sarcastically.
However, when further probed into the delay of the new head of NDMA, it was revealed that just like the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra), whose deputy chairman was appointed after consultation with the General Headquarters (GHQ), a similar exercise was required in this case too.
Though the appointment of the NDMA chairman is notified by the prime minister secretariat, GHQ gives the name which might be the reason the decision is taking so long a time, sources in the secretariat told Dawn.
To a question, they said, involvement of law enforcement agencies, including the security establishment, was the key part of response to any kind of disaster. Therefore, they said, GHQ's input was needed for filling this position.
Nadeem Ahmad earlier worked as the deputy chairman of Erra as serving military officer and was made NDMA chairman on his retirement from the army. The sitting Erra deputy chairman is also a serving army general.
The NDMA officials said the authority was working on routine; however, non-appointment of its head was something they could not do anything about.