ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan has observed that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) demonstrated slow operational performance and weak budget absorption, resulting in the underutilization of allocated funds during the financial year 2024–25.
According to the Audit Report 2025-26, during the financial year 2024-25, expenditure remained substantially lower than available resources, resulting in significant underutilization of funds. Total payments during the year were approximately Rs5.66 billion against receipts/balance of about Rs18.63 billion, indicating weak budget absorption capacity of the NDMA.
This gap reflects conservative or slow spending despite the availability of funds, pointing towards planning inefficiencies and operational contraction. From a budgeting perspective, while fiscal control appears intact, expenditure performance indicates moderate implementation risk.
The NDMA, being the lead federal agency for disaster management in Pakistan, maintains an operational presence across the country through strategically established warehouses to ensure timely preparedness and emergency response.
The report further says that the balance sheet reflects financial stability, with no indication of solvency risk or structural financial distress.
Total assets remain robust across the review period, and liabilities have not shown material escalation that would impair operational continuity.
From a financial sustainability standpoint, the Authority remains secure and capable of meeting its short-term obligations without external stress.
The substantial contraction in the latest year reflects reduced emergency inflows and lower operational intensity. Overall, the financial cycle appears reactive and event-driven rather than based on a stable and predictable baseline financing structure.
Overall receipts reflected a significant event-driven surge followed by a sharp contraction.
Receipts peaked at Rs113.572 billion in FY2021-22 and declined to Rs42.347 billion in FY2022-23, Rs5.775 billion in FY2023-24, and Rs4.128 billion in FY2024-25.
Releases from the Federal Government to the National Disaster Management Fund (NDMF), which were the primary source in FY2020-21 and FY2021-22, fell drastically to Rs64 million by FY 2024-25, indicating heavy dependence on federal allocations during emergency periods.
According to the Audit Report 2025-26 for the financial year 2024-25, utilization patterns further demonstrate variability across the review period. Expenditure exceeded receipts during the emergency phase of COVID-19 and the floods, followed by relatively efficient absorption in the subsequent two years. However, a pronounced drop in utilization in FY2024-25 indicates under-deployment of available funds and a potential operational slowdown.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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