Sunday, September 12, 2010

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hopeful of foreign help

Despite having reservations over channelling of relief goods and resources from the centre, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government claims the donors’ conference it held in Islamabad last month has started bearing fruit.

“Many donors have told us that they will increase their support for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through the federal government,” provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said on Friday.

Representatives of 26 countries’ diplomatic missions participating in the doors’ conference hosted by the provincial government on Aug 20 were informed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would need $2.5 billion for rehabilitation and reconstruction of areas hit by the floods.

None of the donors, however, made any pledge on the occasion.

The minister said the purpose of the meeting was not to secure pledges but to inform the participants about the losses in the province and their consequences for the war against terror if the international community did not respond effectively.

“We told them that extremists could benefit from the situation if the world community did not act swiftly to help the people of the province.”

Provincial Disaster Management Authority’s chief Shakeel Qadir Khan said: “It is only after our interaction that many donors have enhanced their support.” He said the cooperation from different friendly states in terms of relief goods and technical assistance in the affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had increased.

He said the response of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Germany had improved and other countries were likely to follow suit.

US Consul General in Peshawar Elizabeth Rood said her country had participated in the conference and benefited significantly from the information presented.

“While no donors made specific funding pledges at the conference, the participants agreed that Pakistan requires more international support to meet the needs of flood-affected communities.

“The US is awaiting completion of a multi-sector damage and needs assessment that will be conducted over the next few months to guide its longer term planning.

“Once the assessment is complete, the US will coordinate its assistance with other donors based on the areas of greatest need identified by the assessment and the government of Pakistan.” However, the provincial authorities have serious reservations over the way the federal government is distributing aid coming from abroad.

“We are not satisfied with the way the federal government is handling the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There is great disparity in the response towards provinces,” the information minister said.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani visited Nowshera and Dera Ismail Khan on Aug 14 and 18 and handed over a cheque for Rs50 million to Chief Minister Amir Haider Hoti.

“The Rs50 million cheque handed over in Nowshera wasn’t meant for the provincial government. The money had already been released to the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) for providing food items,” Mian Iftikhar said.

He said the USC did not have goods in stock and it would take time to deliver them to the provincial government for distribution among the affected people.

“We want to know how much aid is coming from abroad and how it is being distributed among the provinces.”

The provincial cabinet was informed on Monday that 32 per cent of the affected people needed food, 50 per cent drinking water, 18 per cent tents, 89 per cent hygiene kits, 85 per cent anti-cholera vaccination and 81 per cent medical coverage.

The provincial government is facing a financial crunch caused by growing expenditures in the wake of the floods. The fiscal space created by higher fiscal transfers under the National Finance Commission award has been eaten up by the relief work, an official said.

He said the provincial government had diverted over Rs17 billion from the development sector to relief operation because of lack of additional funding from external resources.

He said some donors had approached the provincial government and were finalising their priorities. He said any financial assistance meant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would come through the federal government.

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