Zubair Qureshi
At a webinar, Fellows of Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD-Pakistan) who are the leading professionals in different sectors strongly condemned the authorities’ decision of closing down the LEAD Pakistan Board of Governors (BoG).
The webinar was organized by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) in collaboration with the LEAD Fellows Network on “Sustainability of Lead Pakistan – a case of nonprofit governance” Saturday late evening.
The participants termed it a “conspiracy of some vested interests since the think tank was self-sustaining and 27-year old working on climate change.”
The think tank was closed when it was needed the most, they added.
They pointed out that the organization had cash reserves of Rs140 million in addition to tangible and intangible assets and a national and international repute.
LEAD Pakistan is the only self-sustaining chapter out of 13 funded by the Rockefeller Foundation that has emerged as an indigenous national think tank. Some 12 have already been closed down after the Rockefeller Foundation stopped funding them in 2000.
Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed said usually the Board members of a Nonprofit Organization (NPO) worked for strengthening their organization.
Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP) also guides the NPOs to have ‘reputable and visionary professionals on its Board so that they could lead the organization to sustainability with their oversight and guidance to the chief executive or executive director’.
The Board members of Lead Pakistan are acting contrary to the set rules and scope of the BoG despite the fact that organization has sufficient funds to survive in the period of ongoing financial crunch, he said. It is deliberate and intentional murder of a living and self-sustaining organization.
The present BoG of Lead Pakistan is chaired by Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan who has been restored by the Lahore High Court as Vice Chancellor of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad despite Punjab’s anti-corruption department and NAB cases of financial embezzlement of more than PKR 420 million against him.
