ADB, WB link aid disbursement to management consultancy

Asian Development Bank and World Bank instruct Pakistan to hire services to ensure transparent disbursement of aid.

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB) have instructed Pakistan to hire the services of a management consultancy firm to ensure transparent disbursement of the $3 billion aid package.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has decided to request the ADB and WB to distribute the funds through cash grants using the Watan Card programme. Sources from within the ministry of finance said that the ADB and WB aid includes diverting money away from existing development projects in the country to flood relief efforts. Conditions for the package should be relaxed to allow rehabilitation efforts to progress quickly, a source said.

The ADB and WB report estimated losses in the wake of the floods at $9.7 billion. Sources indicate that Pakistan will request the two donors to release the $3 billion in the form of cash grants through Watan Cards and that the country will approach other donors to finance its reconstruction efforts. Pakistan will also use existing funds under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) to finance reconstruction.

Sources also said that donors seem content about the disbursement of funds through Watan Cards and that WB and ADB funds can be used transparently under this programme. The funds are distributed through the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) and through the banking sector which ensures transparency.

Simultaneously, the donor bodies have said that feasibility studies must be conducted and that the funds be disbursed through an independent management consultancy to ensure transparency.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2010.