ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has closed its locust emergency and food security (Leaf) project in Pakistan, for which it had approved $200 million, citing the performance of the project as highly unsatisfactory.
The project Leaf was approved in July 2020 and it was meant to control the locust outbreak, restore livelihoods in locust-affected areas, and strengthen national food security and monitoring in the Pakistan.
Informed sources believe the World Bank withdrew the project due to irregular appointments made under the project.
The Ministry of National Food Security of Pakistan, which was to implement the project, had appointed 86 entomologists in the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) for the locust and invasive pests control and management project in March 2023.
The implementation report of the project prepared by the World Bank says the project activities had not commenced and no disbursement had been made.
Since the project has been closed, the ministry terminated services of 86 entomologists hired for the Leaf project in the Department of Plant Protection in Karachi.
The terminated employees have appealed to the ministry against the abrupt termination of their services and payment of outstanding salaries of nearly seven months.
