Sindh PAC orders blacklisting of eight NGOs over funding audit failure

Public Accounts Committee directs Social Welfare Department to cancel registration of NGOs failing to provide financial records, and launches probe into SRSO’s micro-loan interest charges

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sindh Assembly has decided to blacklist eight non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for failing to submit required audit records, invoices, and expenditure details concerning over Rs800 million in funding under the Community Development Programme.

The decision was made during a PAC meeting on Tuesday, chaired by Nisar Khuhro, with members Khurram Karim Soomro, Makhdoom Fakhar-uz-Zaman, and Taha Ahmed in attendance. The Planning and Development Secretary, Sajjad Abbasi, along with other officials, also participated in the session, which focused on audit paras from 2019 and 2020 for the Planning and Development Department.

Officials reported that 16 NGOs had received funds in 2018 for health, education, and skills development projects. However, eight of these NGOs failed to provide any audit documentation. As a result, PAC Chairman Nisar Khuhro ordered the Social Welfare Department to cancel the registration and licenses of these NGOs.

Additionally, the PAC addressed concerns related to the Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO). It was reported that SRSO charged 8-10% interest on micro-loans of Rs10,000 given to widowed and impoverished women in 100 union councils across Kashmore, Jacobabad, and Shikarpur. 

These loans were supposed to be interest-free, as per the UC-Based Poverty Reduction Programme. In response, SRSO’s CEO clarified that the interest charges were mistakenly documented, claiming that the loans were issued through village organizations. The PAC ordered a fact-finding investigation into this issue.

The PAC was also informed that SRSO had not yet returned Rs380 million in interest earnings from Rs9.67 billion allocated for projects in six Sindh districts between 2018 and 2024. SRSO’s CEO assured that the funds would be returned once a formal request was made by the Planning Department. The PAC has ordered an investigation into SRSO’s handling of these funds.

Furthermore, the committee reinstated Pervez Ahmed, the suspended Project Director of the People’s Poverty Reduction Programme, after he apologised for the delay in submitting the audit.

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