Donors' conference raises $ 5.8 billion in pledge

The international community pledged $5.8 billion to help Pakistan rebuild following the October 8 earthquake at the Donors’ Conference here on Saturday, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz announced.“It’s a very successful day for Pakistan. The results are better than our expectations,” Aziz told a press conference at the conclusion of the conference. He thanked the foreign countries and international donor agencies for helping Pakistan and hoped the total amount pledged would increase further.He gave the break-ups of the grants and soft loans and said countries like Australia and Canada would announce their pledges very soon. He said representatives from 75 countries and international organisations participated in the conference. He added there was no confusion about the damage assessments because they were made by Pakistan in collaboration with international donor agencies.Aziz said every Pakistani should be proud that the entire international community had helped the country. “It shows that we are not isolated. These are the fruits of our policies and recognition of Pakistan’s role in the region.” The prime minister promised transparent spending of the grants and loans. He said the United Nations would set up a website containing all financial and other information about the rehabilitation and reconstruction projects in the earthquake-hit areas.He said the President’s Relief Fund would be audited by Pakistan’s auditor general and private firm Ford Rhodes.To a question, he said the government had tried its best to get the opposition onboard. He said the date for the meeting of a parliamentary group on the earthquake would be fixed on Sunday (today).Aziz dismissed opposition claims that the government had decided everything without consulting parliamentary and opposition parties. He said the real work would start after the collection of the pledged money.He ruled out the possibility of new taxes to collect money for the rehabilitation and reconstruction process. He added that it was very important to convert the pledges into actions.The prime minister said the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority had engaged NESPAK as consultants for rehabilitation and reconstruction projects. He said the primary objective was to provide permanent shelter to the homeless people.He said the soft loans pledged to Pakistan would not affect its economy and the reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes would create jobs for the quake-victims. He said Pakistan’s foreign reserves were not a spending amount and hence could not be used in reconstruction and rehabilitation projects. Rana Qaisar adds: In his address of welcome at the conference, Aziz presented a detailed account of the deaths and damage to economic assets, infrastructure, social services delivery and administrative machinery caused by the earthquake.He said the earthquake killed over 73,000 people, injured many more and left about three million without shelter. “Families have lost their bread winners, senior citizens left alone and children without parents,” he said, adding that the grim statistics were rising as mountainous areas became accessible.Aziz said the spontaneous response of Pakistanis both home and abroad was on an unprecedented scale. Pakistan had been overwhelmed by the response of the world community and voluntary organisations. He said Pakistan was looking forward to building a partnership with donors and hoped that they would stay engaged throughout the reconstruction and rehabilitation process.List of pledges by donors.

Banks pledge $2.5b
The World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) pledged $2.501 billion for relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation following the October 8 earthquake in NWFP and AJK at the Donor’s Conference here on Saturday. The World Bank pledged $1 billion, the Asian Development Bank another $1 billion and the Islamic Development Bank $501.6 million. Praful Patel, WB vice president for South Asia, said at the conference that post-earthquake reconstruction will take many years and the bank would be a partner until the job is done. “We are prepared to provide at least $1 billion over the medium term for earthquake reconstruction,” he said. “In the two weeks immediately after the earthquake we put together a $470 million package of assistance as an immediate response.” The bank would provide another $300 million in emergency recovery credit before the end of December, and a similar amount, or more, in the next two years, he said. “These responses will of course align with government priorities, the findings of the Preliminary Damage and Needs Assessment, and delivery of aid from other development partners. Most of this will be a soft loan from the International Development Agency. Our board has also taken the unusual step of providing $5 million as grant,” Patel said. “One of the principles of our engagement must be to secure and safeguard development gains. The preliminary cost of reconstruction is equal to nearly four percent of GDP, and much of these costs will fall to the government due to the rebuilding of public social and physical infrastructure and the need by those affected for government assistance. A Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) for $300 million supporting key economic reforms was already planned for this year,” he said. Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank, said the ADB would dedicate a programme of $1 billion in concessional support. This will be provided in a number of stages. “On the 14th of this month our board approved $105 million from loan savings in quick disbursing budget support. The funds should be disbursed next week. The same day the board also approved the establishment of a Pakistan Earthquake Fund - including an initial contribution from ADB of $80 million in grant financing.” “Very shortly, we will also present to our board a proposal for a $300 million Earthquake Emergency Assistance Project, inclusive of the $80 million from the Pakistan Earthquake Fund. These funds will be used to rebuild and restore roads, power supplies, schools and hospitals, and to support governance and institutions. The balance of our support is expected to be finalised in 2006, with flexibility to address the remaining high priority needs of rehabilitation and reconstruction.” Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank, said the IDB Board of Executive Directors had allocated $501.6 million for Pakistan. sajid chaudhry.Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Here is a list of pledges that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz released at a media briefing. The figures aggregate money already distributed with new donations made at the conference and also combining grants, loans and assistance paid in kind.ADB $1 billion World Bank $1 billionSaudi Arabia $573 millionUnited States $510 millionIDB $500 million China $326 million Iran $200 million Turkey $150 million France $124 million Britain $120 million Japan $120 million European Union $110 million Germany $100 million UAE $100 million Kuwait $100 million The Netherlands $70 million Norway $70 million Canada $66 million Aga Khan Network $50 million -AFP