Daily Times

Britain’s new premier Boris Johnson’s pledge to merge Department for International Development (DfID) into foreign office may, inversely, affect aid programs in many countries including Pakistan.The development giant’s educational and other social sector funding would, after Brexit, be linked to achieving UK’s foreign policy objectives as a tool to strengthen the former colonial king’s overseas position.

No charity from the state funded institutions like DFID may be without its side effects. There is, though, a vivid and deep-rooted cause behind every funding phenomena.

In a parallel development after the Johnson declaration, more than 100 charities said: “Merging DfID with the FO would risk dismantling the UK’s leadership on international development and humanitarian aid. It suggests we are turning our backs on the world’s poorest people, as well as some of the greatest global challenges of our time: extreme poverty, climate change and conflict. UK aid risks becoming a vehicle forUK foreign policy, commercial and political objectives, when it first and foremost should be invested to alleviate poverty.”

Cole, UK’s former Cuban ambassador, also warned stating that when you have the National Security Council, the British Development Agency shouldn’t be merged. However, the Conservative Party’smember of the parliament Pauline defended the combining of DFID and FO.

The Punjab Education Foundation was given 70 million pounds from 2102 to 2019. However, instead of revolutionizing the education sector, the existing system was inversely overhauled

It is to be recalled that three years after the Pergau Dam scandal of 1994, when hundreds of millions of pounds of aid was linked to an arms deal, DFID was set up by the Tony Blair administration. It was Tory’s manifesto to spend 0.7% on development projects across the world. About 30% of the £14bn annual aid budget is now available in departments outside DfID and in cross-government funds.

Pakistan may also face some difficulties in this regard as the British agency had been funding in education and health sectors in Pakistan. It may be added here that the Daily Mail had alleged that the then Sharif’s family in Pakistan had embezzled aid for earthquake victims. Pakistani press, too, blamed Shahbaz Sharif of misusing the charity money for the political purposes.The funding for education sector was allegedly used through the Punjab Education Foundation to strengthen political strata. An education model public school support program was developed todole outfive thousand government schools to the private sector. This unnecessary exercise was done at the cost of the public sectorto win the 2018 elections. This political dream was materialized owing to the UK’s taxpayers’ donations.DFID’s support for the Punjab Education Sector Roadmap, however, helped to capitalize on a renewed interest on the part of Pakistan’s political leaders in improving service delivery.

The Punjab Education Foundation was given 70 million pounds from 2102 to 2019. However, instead of revolutionizing the education sector, the existing system was inversely overhauled. Reportedly, a huge amount of colossal funding given by DFID to Punjab to reform the archaic education sector was spent, allegedly, to meet temporal political motives of the then PML-N government led by Shehbaz Sharif.The UK’s taxpayers, however, were kept in the dark as necessary codal formalities like audit, documentation and PPRA rules, etc. were fulfilled to show to the British citizens that their money was being spent on the right purpose of giving education to the poorest strata in Pakistan. The PEF and its funding partner DFID also managed to twice get publish promotional stories in a well-known international weekly. Both the PEF and the DFID wanted international projection of the reforms programme in Punjab to make the British citizens realize that their tax money was spent to meet the educational target.The purpose of the political elite, then ruling the province, was to grab more votes by using the DFID funding. The mechanism adopted by the ruling party to materialize this motif was enrolling children of the influential people in the international donor agency as well as in the Punjab Education Foundation. Though a Board of Directors was constituted in the foundation but Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif directly supervised the working of this foundation through political personalities appointed as chairmen of the board including Raja Anwar and Raja Qamar-ul-Islam, MPA.

However, following the allegations in the Daily Mail by David Rose and other media, the British taxpayers came to know the real face of the UK’s charity. The donating people also realized an evil nexus between the DFID and the corrupt rulers who claim poverty alleviation but are hiding in the UK to evade accountability. Even though the British Development Agency instantly rebutted the Daily Mail news. No one, including Shahbaz Sharif, the chief accused, could dare to take any legal action against the tabloid or the reporter.

Analysts accuse the Shahbaz Sharif’s political outmaneuvering for the collateral damage of the education sector in Punjab.In addition, there have been many cases where the British people’s money was embezzled in other countries, such as in Zambia, where a minister had to be sacked because he was accused of milking money out of donating goat. Oxfam, a partner of the DFID, that was accused of sex harassment issues during operations, also proved an inverted pyramid for the UK’s funding giant.As the funding source of DfID is dried, the future of PEF and the PSSP is in danger. The government should revamp the schools education department and directly run all the doled out government schools. For this, SED should get rid of the dead wood and bring in efficient manpower to give market-based quality education to the students. Otherwise, the dream of a new Pakistan cannot be materialized.

The writer is a Lahore based public policy analyst