Daily News Pakistan

PESHAWAR: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani will on Friday give a go-ahead for an international appeal to raise $1.078 billion for rehabilitation and reconstruction in the battered Malakand division, a senior government official told Dawn.
‘The international financial institutions (IFIs) have completed the damage need assessment (DNA) and they say that we would need Rs86.215 billion for reconstruction and rehabilitation in Malakand,’ the official said.
The meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Gilani and attended by members of the Strategic Oversight Council, which includes NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani, Peshawar Corps Commander Lt Gen Masud Aslam, Chief Secretary Javed Iqbal and representatives of the federal government.
According to the draft DNA, livelihood & social protection alone would need Rs15.751 billion ($197 million), followed by housing Rs6.620 billion ($83 million), health Rs1.5 billion ($ 19 million) and education Rs5.4 billion ($69 million).
The DNA draft report, conducted by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, says that Rs19.651 billion would be needed for transport in terms of rehabilitation and reconstruction of physical infrastructure, while a staggering Rs25.698 billion ($321 million) would be required for agriculture, livestock and irrigation in the private sector.
The IFIs would take the DNA to international donors, after approval by Prime Minister Gilani, to help kick-start the much-needed rehabilitation and reconstruction work in Malakand division from where over 2.4 million people were uprooted. So far, no work has been initiated for non-availability of funds.
Despite pledges by international donor agencies, even money for the early recovery plan has not been forthcoming and officials warn that the slow pace of work is already causing a lot of frustration and anger amongst the population in Malakand.
‘My biggest worry is that Malakand will relapse to militancy if we don’t follow through on our promises,’ the official said.
‘Until marginalised people feel like they are part of the process, I wouldn’t be surprised to see anarchy returning. At its heart, it is an economic issue and does not go away that easily,’ he remarked.
‘Sooner or later, if you don’t start showing something more tangible, there will be despair and despondency. People have expectations,’ he said. ‘But the problem is that money is not coming.’
To add to the woes of a cash-strapped NWFP, even the United Nations’ flash appeal for an early recovery failed to generate any funds.
The UN launched a flash appeal of $ 680 million in May, out of which, according to initial estimates, $54 million were to be earmarked for the early recovery plan.
The overall flash-appeal remains under-funded by 40 per cent, while out of the $54 million early recovery plan, the world body could barely generate a meagre $ 300,000. ’We have not received a single penny,’ the official said.
‘It is under-funded,’ spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Fawad Hussain, acknowledged.
But he added that a UN team was due to leave for Riyadh next week to finalise modalities to receive $100 million pledged by Saudi Arabia. The Saudi money is expected to arrive in mid-October and UN officials are optimistic that it will take care of the early recovery plan.
The UN secretary general will announce a 2010 flash appeal next month. To add insult to injury, besides funding, there have been bureaucratic delays by the federal government. The NWFP government has projected that it immediately needs Rs14.2 billion for the next six months, but there has been little or no help from the federal government in this regard.
The provincial government is diverting funds from other districts to build 65 schools in Swat. ‘This is being done at the expense of other districts which also need attention,’ the official said.
The USAID has also halted all activities in Pakistan pending a review by the State Department following demand by the government of Pakistan that funds should be channelled through government departments. This means that all major projects, including the Empower Pakistan which was budgeted at $750 million with larger component for the NWFP and Fata, has also been halted.
An official claimed that any sum above $100,000 had to be cleared by Richard Holbrooke himself pending a final review and decision on how to use the USAID funds.
‘Even if USAID programmes need to be redesigned, it should be done in a manner that the flow of money does not dry up,’ the official maintained. Officials warn that delays in kick-starting the rehabilitation and reconstruction process in Malakand will undermine all the good work done by security forces to cleanse the area of militants.
‘The security situation is better, but I can’t assure myself it will remain that way if we do not act fast. We don’t have the luxury of time,’ the official warned.