UN, donors hold back flood aid commitments

KARACHI
The United Nations and major donor countries have not yet provided the committed amount of money to Pakistan to support flood relief and rehabilitation in the country, leaving millions of affected people in distress, sources told Pakistan Today on Sunday.
The major donor countries had committed 1.87 billion dollars in assistance, while the UN had raised about $500 million for Pakistan. But so far, neither the UN nor the donors have provided any significant amount to Pakistan, sources in the State Bank of Pakistan and the Finance Ministry told Pakistan Today.
Through a joint survey, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank had put the losses at $9.5 billion. Sources said the country had received a negligible amount of foreign exchange, that too mostly from overseas individuals, NGOs and philanthropists, while the UN and the major donors were yet to forward any significant amount to Pakistan.
The UN, WB, ADB and the US are showing a keen interest in attaching conditions with loans and assistance and making no serious efforts in handing over the money to Pakistan, the sources said.
Of the 20 million people affected by floods, around 70-75 percent had returned to their areas by the first week of October and seeking financial support from the government and donors to rebuild their homes and restart their life.
Some NGOs are supporting the flood-hit people, but the absence of the key donors is being felt bitterly in the official and NGO circles, the sources said. The federal and provincial governments are facing a tough time in meeting their obligations of supporting the relief and rehabilitation work without the support of the international community.
With the donors having withheld the assistance, the Punjab government has rolled back the ‘Sasti Roti’ programme, while the federal and Sindh governments are diverting a major chunk of the Benazir Income Support Programme and the annual development programmes to rehabilitation efforts. Sources said the Sindh government was planning to further reduce the ADP to Rs 45 billion against its actual size of Rs 115 billion announced in the Budget 2010-11.
Senior officials the Sindh Finance Department have told the Planning and Development Department to slash development funds, as neither the world donors nor the federal government had provided a penny for the rehabilitation purposes, the sources said. Following the floods, the Sindh
government decided to cut the ADP 2010-11 by 50 percent, however, the Finance Department proposed a 65 to 70 percent cut.
Complying with the advice, the administrative department had revised its development schemes by ensuring a cut of at least 50 percent, the sources said, adding that a summary was sent to the Sindh chief minister for approval, but it could not be finalised due to strong reservations shown by officials dealing the province’s financial matters.
Here are the country-wise pledges to support relief and rehabilitation:
Asian Development Bank $3.22 million, Algeria $1m, Australia $67.50m, Bahrain $5m, Bangladesh $2m, Canada $33m, China $50.72m, Czech Republic $0.20m, Denmark $33m, Egypt $1.45m, European Union $187.50m, Finland $5.67m, France $2.63m, Germany $43.75m, India $ 25m, Indonesia $2.73m, Iran $101.20m, Ireland $3.30m, Italy $8.25m,
Japan $19.80m, Korean $1.10m, Kuwait $10m, Netherlands $43.25m, Norway $19m, Oman $5m, Saudi Arabia $100m, Spain $7.46m, Sweden $23.01m, Switzerland $7.28m, Turkey $45m, Turkey public-private funds raising $130m, UAE $5m, UAE private sector $9.60m, the United Kingdom $117.67m, UN $29m and United States/USAID $381.52 million. The World Bank had committed $1.3 billion worth of flood aid.