News
Friday, October 01, 2010
Accord signed with US for $831m under Kerry-Lugar Act* US ambassador says funds being used in transparent manner
* Money to fund key sectors, including democracy and governance
By Ijaz Kakakhel
ISLAMABAD: The United States and Pakistan on Thursday signed five agreements for the grant of $831 million under the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act, popularly known as Kerry-Lugar Act.
US Ambassador Robin Raphel and Economic Affairs Division Secretary Sibtain Fazal Halim inked the agreement. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Raphel said the US was working closely with the government of Pakistan and non-government organisations, and that the US funds were being utilised in a transparent manner.
Giving details of the agreement, the ambassador said that it was an important element in the implementation of the Kerry-Lugar Bill. It would make available the first tranche of $831 million from over $1 billion in development assistance funds that the US will provide to the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Raphel revealed that USAID had already provided $224 million from the Kerry-Lugar funds to priority projects in Pakistan.
“We will implement our assistance in the most open, transparent and accountable manner, so the people of Pakistan and of the US know where the money is going,” Raphel said, adding that the US government was in contact with the Pakistan government for long-term strategic dialogues, which included talks on financial assistance. The American government had also contributed $340 million to the flood-relief efforts, she added. Answering a question about transparent use of the money, Raphel said the US had a number of monitoring mechanisms for this purpose. “We thoroughly assess the situation and make decision weather to extend our funds to an entity or government of Pakistan,” she said, adding if the US government realised that the assistance was being misused, it could stop further funding. The ambassador said that there was no need to evaluate the performance of projects in Pakistan through third party evaluation.
The funds will be used for programmes in key sectors. The breakdown of allocation for various sectors is as follows: $99 million for democracy and governance, $131 million for health, $179 million for education, $144 million for creation of economic opportunities, $56.5 million for agriculture, $45 million for energy. $111 million and $66 million will be spent on stabilisation and human assistance in FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, respectively. Halim defended the country’s financial and auditing system and claimed that the US government trusted them.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk