At a ceremony at Chief Minister House on Friday, the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Mission Director Andrew Sisson signed a statement of cooperation to begin a five-year Municipal Service Delivery Programme with $10 million in initial funding.
“USAID’s partnership with Sindh will help improve basic service delivery in a transparent way,” Dr Sisson said, according to a press release. “The programme will help the government become more responsive to community priorities, reduce losses, and seek an appropriate role for government in the market.”
The programme will provide technical assistance and resources to improve the management of key services through infrastructure upgrades and operational reforms. It will focus on 14 districts throughout Sindh, some of which were severely affected by the floods and are the most underserved in the province. After the initial $10 million, additional funding is anticipated in the coming years. Dr Sisson also announced the US government’s commitment to help Sindh engage the private sector in the establishment and management of key infrastructure projects, including roads infrastructure and grain storage facilities. USAID is also helping Sindh develop a road network through a public-private partnership.
Responding to a question, the chief minister said that Rs16 billion will be needed to strengthen embankments and the Sindh government has already given the irrigation department one billion rupees.
They are waiting to get the money from the federal government to enlarge and strengthen the protective bunds of the River Indus. “From Guddu to the Arabian Sea the embankment is around 1,300 km long,” said CM Qaim Ali Shah. “I hope by the end of April we will complete the work on protective bunds by using conventional methods.”
When asked about the anomalies in the distribution of Watan cards among flood survivors, the CM said that 90 per cent of the cards have been given out and there are a few genuine complaints, which will be addressed. “We are about to complete the first phase of the Watan card [project] by paying each family Rs20,000,” he said. “The rest of the amount, which is Rs80,000 will be paid by the federal government.”
Talking to The Express Tribune, minister for rehabilitation Haji Muzaffar Ali Shujra, said that the UN, Turkey and Iran have also expressed interest in building houses in the flood-hit areas.
The Turkish government is going to build 2,000 houses in Shikarpur in the coming two weeks. Meanwhile, the UN and Iran each will start constructing 10,000 houses as well. Sindh plans to build 30,000 houses for its part. Link roads have been rebuilt and the provincial government has given the works and services department Rs500 million to expedite the process. Meanwhile, Adviser Dr Kaiser Bengali told The Express Tribune that the Sindh government is going to lay six dual carriageways worth 105 billion rupees in a public and private partnership.
The contract bidding for the three-year project was successfully held a few days ago.
Sindh’s flood losses were put at Rs464 billion, out of which the loss to infrastructure is believed to be Rs200 billion. According to Bengali, the federal government is insisting that we generate our own resources as there hasn’t been much of a response from the international community. “We have cut the annual development budget and are looking to impose a flood tax, which can support us in the rehabilitation process,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2011.
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