News
Sunday, April 18, 2010
EAD has no clue of UK’s £10m grant for MDTF* MDTF sill has not become operational, likely to start work by May end
By Vidya Rana
ISLAMABAD: The Economic Affairs Division has not received any official indication from the government of the United Kingdom regarding the 10 million pounds announced for rebuilding the country’s conflict-affected areas.
The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) had announced on March 8 that the £10 million would immediately be transferred to the Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), supposedly being managed by the World Bank.
Operation: Economic Affairs Division sources said the £10 million out of a total of £60 million pledge were to go to the MDTF, which is not even operational so far.
“We are not aware of any amount pledged by the UK for the MDTF, as the negotiations about its functions are still going on. It is expected that the MDTF will start working by the end of May, if everything goes well,” an official, who is a part of the negotiations, said on condition of anonymity.
“I wonder if the information is correct because we are officially informed by the donor country before it makes an announcement on financial pledges, particularly when it gives disbursement strategy, number of beneficiaries and area of interest,” he said.
On March 8, George Turkington, head of DFID, had told reporters at the British High Commission in Pakistan that the DFID programme would also provide £10 million pounds to build temporary bridges, which would have a life of 30 years and would be installed in conflict-hit areas of FATA.
Interestingly, the NWFP’s Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority (PaRRSA) is also unaware of the planned construction of bridges.
The sources in the EAD said all governments intending to spend money in Pakistan obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the EAD before carrying out assessments and project appraisals.
“This is a lengthy process and high-level negotiations are held before accepting or rejecting the conditions linked to grants or soft or hard loans,” the official said.
Similarly, prior approval for each project [meant for FATA in this case] is required from the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and PaRRSA respectively.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk