Transparency in utilisation of Pakistan flood aid

 Transparency of Pakistan flood aid,

World powers made fresh aid pledges for Pakistan’s flood disaster on Sunday, after a $2 billion UN appeal, but pressed the country to fully account for the money.

UN Secretary General Ban-Ki moon called for an “urgent” global response to “one of the biggest and most complex natural disasters we have faced in the history of the United Nations”. Britain doubled its flood aid to $210 million, the United States said it was now offering $340 million and the European Union $350 million. Saudi Arabia said it had also donated $345 million in government and public funds. Iran has allotted $100 million. Britain has added 70 million pounds to its existing 64 million pounds in emergency aid, taking the total to about $210 million, said UK International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell on Sunday.

But it was not immediately clear whether the $2 billion target had been reached at the meeting of over 25 top diplomats, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Aid groups expressed disappointment at the response. The UN had asked for $460 million in August but quadrupled the figure on Friday because of the scope of the disaster. I call for your urgent response,” the UN chief said. “Of course, we know this is happening in a part of the world where stability and prosperity are profoundly in the world’s interests,” he added.

National Disaster Management Authority Chairman Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmad said the country had only 20 percent of the food and 20 percent of the water needed for the stricken 20 million people. Clinton stressed that Pakistan must become more self-sufficient and raise more domestic money for reconstruction. Clinton said the US would help its ally “bring transparency, oversight and accountability to the reconstruction”.

Other major donors also pressed for more transparency to tackle rampant corruption in the country. “It is critical for the government to ensure full transparency of cash flow,” Tadamichi Yamamoto, Japan’s special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, told the meeting. Germany’s Development Minister Dirk Niebel said Pakistan must be “realistic” and raise more of its own money to rebuild the country.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Islamabad would have to prove its ability to manage foreign aid ahead of an October meeting in Brussels to review a flood damage assessment report, which the World Bank and Asian Development Bank are preparing. “To make most effective use of help and even to secure full donor support, the government will need reconstruction founded on transparency, accountability, flexibility, backed by law,” Zoellick said. agencies

(source:dailytimes.com.pk)