" 300m earthquake aid 'misused by Zardari' " Telegraph UK

Adeel

Founder
More than 300 million in foreign aid for victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake has been diverted by President Asif Zardari's government to other causes, officials have told The Daily Telegraph.


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They now fear that the alleged diversion of funds will deter donors from giving further aid after the country's devastating floods.

According to senior officials, schools, hospitals, houses and roads planned with money given by foreign governments and international aid groups remain unbuilt almost five years after the earthquake which killed 80,000 and left four million people homeless.



International donors gave 3.5 billion to rebuild vast swaths of Pakistan's Kashmir and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces after the earthquake destroyed the region's infrastructure.
However, senior Pakistani officials yesterday said more than 300 million given in aid has yet to be handed over to the country's Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA).


Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's opposition leader, last night said suspicion among potential donors was hampering the fund-raising effort to help more than 14 million people displaced by the floods which have swept away buildings, bridges and roads in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Punjab provinces.



"There's reluctance, even people in this country are not giving generously into this flood fund because they're not too sure the money will be spent honestly," he told The Daily Telegraph.
Mr Zardari has already been criticised for his handing of the floods after failing to cancel his foreign trip, which included a meeting with David Cameron at Chequers, despite scale of the disaster. So far 14 million people need help and 1,600 have died, making it the world's worst humanitarian disaster, according to the UN.


Mr Zardari has now failed to cancel a trip to Russia next week but has scaled it down from a two-day visit to a one-day visit.


Earthquake reconstruction directors were first told their budgets were being cut in March 2009 when 12 billion Pakistan Rupees (90 million) was diverted from their budget to other government projects. They were told: "When we have the money we will pay you," said one senior official. "All the money was given by Western governments, but they said 'we have so many other problems,'" he added.



In June this year, ERRA staff were told their 2010-2011 budget of 43 billion Pakistan Rupees (322 million) had been but down to just 10 billion Rupees (75 million).


In Balakot, where 5,000 of the town's 25,000 people were killed in the earthquake, thousands of families were told their entire town would be rebuilt six miles away because it stood directly in the 'red zone' directly above the fault line.



But despite promises that the new town would be completed by last month, not a single new road has been completed nor a building construction begun on the site of "New Balakot". When the Telegraph visited the "new town" this week mechanical diggers stood rusting and security guards said there had been no work on the site for more than a year. Officials said contractors had not been paid since April and were still owed 22.5 million. Kamal Nawaz,30, of Gairlat Village, where families of 14 are living in tiny two room temporary huts, said:"they told us they could build three new Balakots but we're still waiting for one." A minute of an ERRA meeting to discuss the funding crisis earlier this month decided there would be "no further work on all on-going projects," while an internal letter dated August 6th explained that as a result of the "rationalization exercise" several offices would have to be closed and assets auctioned. Plans have also been made to cut its 3000 staff down to 800.
Officials said as all the earthquake reconstruction projects had been identified and budgeted for with funds donated by foreign governments and aid agencies, there was no justification for the cuts.



Pakistan's finance secretary Salman Siddiq said the government had rejected requests for extra funds because of the country's fiscal deficit but denied any foreign aid funds had been diverted. "No cuts were imposed last year," he said.






http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...2/300m-earthquake-aid-misused-by-Zardari.html
 

Khurram.k

Senator (1k+ posts)
How can you blame UK people for not helping us out.

who is blaming anyone living outside of Pakistan ? NO one ! like it or not , This corrupt government has to take the blame....not that it's gonna change anything .... their corruption will take a massive rise yet again once the serious aid starts pouring in and beleive me ...it will come in . Most intenational aid is waiting for better hands to be accepting that aid .
God bless Pakistan !!
 

kashah

Politcal Worker (100+ posts)
GOD dose not bless pakistan, first the people of pakistan must take the responsebelty of screwing up the land and ask ALLAH to forgive the people of this land, then GOD might forgive and bless pakistan.
 

Nice2MU

President (40k+ posts)
انٹرنیشنل ڈونرز کو زرداری کی طرف سے ایک او

انٹرنیشنل ڈونرز کو زرداری کی طرف سے ایک اور دھوکہ دینے کی کوشش
:lol::lol::lol:[hilar][hilar]


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jaanmark

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
BEEN A PAKISTANI I HOPE THAT NEWS IS WORNG.
Pakistan has opened its camp office in Tel Aviv. If it right kill zardari and any one who support this idea.
Zardari Administration Secretly Working to Establish Ties with Israel while in France and in London that is why Zardari Administration feel nothing about if people of Pakistan killing by water, USA drown with very closed work with current Zardari Administration or guns
It real terms means kill our own the people of Pakistan slowly slowly
First kill the law& order, make monopoles like elasticity, food, water, and let people of Pakistan who are most simple Muslim shall die first like in NWFP area.
That is why it should not happen for seek of Great Pakistan.

God help Pakistan, with out from wife killer Zardari, look the colour of his tie Indian nationalist colour a pure Hindu activist and the biggest follower of Indian lobby ester.
 

jaanmark

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
performance..pleeeeeeeeeeeaze !
By the way one old story for you
Dear brathers from Pakistan-please go through following confidential letter issued from Post Master Generals office, and enlighten the forum about the further details-
Office of postmaster General, Pakistan
Feb 14
Yusuf Raza Gilani
Prime Minister of Pakistan,
Pakistan House, Islamabad
Respected Prime Minister Gilani:
I am glad to inform your majesty the result of the investigation about the Stamp Issue your majesty raised on official enquiry on 10th Feb’2010. As you remember, on your instruction Stamp bearing current President’s, Asif Ali Zardari’s, name and photograph was issued on 25th Dec’2010. It was first time in Pakistan’s history that in place of Quaid A Azam, stamp was issued in name of a sitting president. Soon after the release of the stamp we were flooded with the complaints that the stamp doesn’t stick properly, mostly not at all, on the envelopes. This was very disturbing and disappointing news for our staff and issuing authorities. I immediately launched a three member impartial investigation board to resolve the issue. After 30 days of thorough investigation the investigating board concluded that there is nothing wrong with the stamp, but problem is everyone spitting on wrong side of stamp!
I am so relieved that this not a postal mistake and may I request you to issue an official handout on “where to spit on presidential stamp”. I hope this will solve the problem for good.
Yours obediently,
Murad Saeed
Post Master General of Pakistan
 

Malik495

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Donor countries dont want to help pakistan in this crisis because they know what kind of nation we are who has chosen a hypocrite and most corrupt person as a president of the country.. still there are so many charity organizations here in uk are wroking and raising funds for flood effecties but poeple are still in doubt wether these funds will go to the pockets of zardari or will be used for effected poor people of pakistan..
 

Night_Hawk

Siasat.pk - Blogger
Lack of donor response

Lack of donor response:
by Kalsoom Lakhani on 08 17th, 2010


Over the last few weeks, the news has continuously broadcast images of people wading through what were once their homes, families escaping with few belongings, small reminders of the lives they left behind. As the floods continue to ravage much of Pakistan, the images continue to be stark, the statistics grim. Over the weekend, the Pakistani government stated that 20 million have now been affected by the disaster, more than the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined. Authorities recently confirmed a case of cholera, leading to concerns of an outbreak of the disease, with thousands of those affected by the floods showing the symptoms of acute watery diarrhea, reported the Guardian.
The rains have not stopped. The floods have not slowed. The ramifications of the disaster, from public health-related to livelihoods impacted, will be enormous. But despite the gravity of this situation, the Pakistan floods have increasingly become less news worthy (among American outlets at least), and the donor response has been relatively low.
Ahsan at the Five Rupees blog noted a dramatic difference in the Western news coverage of the recent earthquake in Haiti and the Pakistan floods:
Heres the bottom line: in the two weeks immediately after the Haitian earthquake, there were 88 stories published in the NYT. Of those 88, twelve were on the front page, an average of almost one a day. Put differently, the Haitian earthquake got almost as many stories on the front page as the Pakistani floods did in the entire newspaper. So, to recap: Haitian earthquake stories in the NYT vs. Pakistani floods stories in the NYT: 88 vs. 15. Haitian earthquake front page stories vs. Pakistani floods front page stories: 12 vs. 1.


According to CBS News , ten days after the Kashmir earthquake in 2005, donors gave or pledged $292 million, according to the aid group Oxfam. The January 12 disaster in Haiti led to pledges nearing $1 billion within the first 10 days. In comparison, the international community has given or pledged about $102 million since the flooding began in late July, a far cry from the United Nations appeal of $460 million for just immediate relief.



According to a BBC statistic last week, the aid pledge for Pakistan averages to about $6.82 a survivor, compared to $669.80 a survivor of the 2004 tsunami.
Such a difference is staggering, but it is not all together surprising. Most Americans reading the news about Pakistan in the last few years regularly ingest several underlying themes first, Pakistanis hate Americans. Second, Pakistan has a militancy problem that is a threat to the United States and their interests. Third, the Pakistani government is corrupt and inept at governing their people. Therefore, stories related to the floods are framed within this context, often losing that essential humanitarian tone in the process. While some could point to donor fatigue, perhaps many are just fatigued with Pakistan.
The easiest option would be for us all to just bemoan this apathy and criticize the lack of donor response by the international community. But that wont help the millions suffering, or the agencies providing emergency relief on the ground. The most productive response would be to raise awareness about the flood situation to non-Pakistanis, to garner donations that would go directly to credible organizations working with those affected by the flood in Pakistan.
There are many reputable organizations, both Pakistani and international, that are doing incredible work on the ground, providing clean water, shelter, and food to the many who are displaced from their homes and villages. Many notable bloggers have listed their own recommendations in the past few weeks. Last week, my company, ML Resources Social Vision, a venture philanthropy providing support to innovative initiatives with expected high social returns, and Pakistani Peace Builders , a new initiative of Pakistani-Americans and concerned global citizens, launched Relief4Pakistan, a grassroots donation campaign designed to centralise funds for the flood victims in Pakistan in order to maximise impact.
After much due diligence and consideration, we chose Mercy Corps, a global aid agency, as the direct recipient of these donations. This was due to several reasons. First, Mercy Corps has a strong presence on the ground, both before the flood disaster and currently. Second, the agency is transparent and has a strong reputation in the United States and abroad. This is important in garnering both a Pakistani and non-Pakistani response. Finally, Mercy Corps works effectively with local communities and NGOs in Pakistan, delivering clean water, staple foods, and clean-up tools to families in Swat Valley and Sindh, two of the most affected areas.
Relief4Pakistan is leveraging social media and grassroots giving to make an impact and raise awareness. R4P has set its first fundraising goal at $100,000, and have raised over $19,000 in the last four days. While donations are key in reaching this goal, we want Relief4Pakistan to become a movement, one that encourages transparency, garners momentum, and empowers citizen giving (you can join the Facebook page to receive progress updates). This effort among many others is vital in changing donor fatigue and aiding the millions impacted in our country.

 

furry87

Senator (1k+ posts)
unconfirmed!!! ,unproven , allegations , accusations, defamation , propa****a...is era zardaris cabinet ??, is police the name of a person called zardari ??, is zardari the only person who works in the judicial system ?? is zardari the only one who works for wapda ?? is zardari the only person who work in the fia , is zardari the only person who works in ib , is zardari the only person who work is food and agro dep?? is zardari the only person who works for education ministry ??


THE answer to all those questions is NOOO!!!, ordinary pakistanis work in those instituions, was zardari in pakistan before 2007 ?? was there no corruption be fore 2007 ??

Pointless, we deserve what we get for being so clueless and sheepish.
 
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