International donors pledge more for Pak quake victims
ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: Major international donor agencies, led by
the World Bank, have indicated to make available an additional $800
million or 'even more' as sought by President Pervez Musharraf, but want
the government to address concerns about corruption in the
quake-affected parts of the NWFP and AJK.
"Certainly there is a scope for corruption considering such a huge
reconstruction task and this requires strict and regular monitoring by
the government agencies concerned," Mr John Wall, Country Director of
the World Bank, said in Islamabad. However, he said, there was not much
noise about corruption keeping in view the massive reconstruction work
spread over many years. "The problem is being faced in the housing
sector where the role of revenue officers, district officers and other
officials concerned is all the more important to ensure that there is no
corruption involved," Mr Wall said. Generally, he said, things were
moving in the right direction and international donor agencies and
government functionaries were cooperating to mitigate the suffering of
the quake survivors. |