Gilani upbeat CCI will resolve differences

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani promises to accommodate the demands of all provinces when CCI meets.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has promised to accommodate the demands of all provinces when the Council of Common Interests (CCI) meets on Monday.

The CCI is a high-powered constitutional body that moves in to resolve disputes between the federating units or between the units and the federal government. This meeting has been called to finalise a national strategy for the rehabilitation of over 20 million flood survivors and was initially scheduled for Friday but postponed following a deadly suicide attack on a religious procession in Lahore.

According to recent media reports, provinces appear to be at odds with each other over the extent of damage caused by the devastating floods and how much of the international aid pie should each province receive.

But at a meeting with parliamentarians on Saturday, Gilani expressed the hope that these differences would be reconciled once the CCI meets. “It [the CCI meeting] will send a message to the world that the entire nation is united to help their brethren in the flood-affected areas,” a statement quoted him as saying.

The prime minister reiterated that all stakeholders will be taken on board by the government to formulate a national strategy for rehabilitation. He said that floodwaters had begun to recede, thus the next phase of reconstruction and rehabilitation would begin soon.

He said that consolidated efforts were needed to provide relief to the distressed people. “It is not the time for scoring points. Rather, all efforts should be directed to enhance the pace of relief activities,” he said, adding that the vast scale of devastation was a big challenge that should be converted into an opportunity through unity.

Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Lahore, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira has assured that  transparency in aid distribution will be ensured at “all costs”.

He said that different modalities are being considered for distribution of relief assistance but final approval was needed from all the provincial governments. “Once a distribution mechanism and compensation amount for survivors is finalised at the CCI meeting, the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra), federal departments, provincial governments and district administrations will prepare lists of flood-affected people,” he said. Nadra will then register them after thorough verification and also issue them a “Watan Card” under which bank accounts will automatically be opened to extend financial assistance. (With additional input from APP)

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2010.