USAID/Pakistan Provides $44 million for Families Displaced

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 002822 AIDAC SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV PK PINR PREL PTER PREF IO SUBJECT: USAID/Pakistan Provides $44 million for Families Displaced by Conflict ¶1. (U) Summary. On November 17, USAID/Pakistan notified the Government of Pakistan (GoP) that USAID had requested release of USD 44 million in budget support for the GoP cash assistance to families displaced by conflict with insurgents. Funds should reach the GoP's bank account by Friday, November 20. This assistance will allow the GoP to complete its initial program for internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP),which was temporarily suspended due to GoP budgetary constraints. USAID support will also free up resources to facilitate GoP assistance to IDPs now coming from South Waziristan. -------------- Background -------------- ¶2. (U) In mid-June, the GoP initiated a cash assistance program to provide 25,000 Pakistani Rupees (PKR),or approximately $300, to displaced and conflict-affected families from Malakand Division, primarily those from Swat, Buner, Shangla, and Lower Dir districts. However, in late July the GoP suspended IDP registration and verification, citing budgetary constraints. In early August, the U.N. expressed concern that more than 50,000 displaced families awaited assistance. -------------- USAID Provides USD 44 Million -------------- ¶3. (U) On June 8, President Obama signed a supplemental FY 2009 appropriation authorizing budget support to the GoP and relief to conflict-affected families. The detailed spending plan developed for supplemental funds included USD 44 million in budget support for the GoP's IDP cash assistance program, which was obligated to the GoP on September 30th upon receiving Congressional approval. To meet the Congressional requirement of "maximum accountability and oversight," USAID/Pakistan conducted an assessment of the GoP's mechanism for IDP payments. Immediately upon receiving a satisfactory GoP response to the assessment findings, USAID notified the GoP on November 17 that the U.S. Government (USG) would disburse the USD 44 million. Funds should reach the GoP's bank account by November 20. ¶4. (U) For monitoring and verification, the GoP will supply USAID a complete list of USG budget support beneficiaries, with which USAID will conduct spot-checks and evaluations of the effectiveness of the program in reaching the intended beneficiaries. -------------- Impact of the Assistance -------------- ¶5. (U) The USG's USD 44 million is the only donor contribution the GoP has received for this program to date. It will meet the GoP's costs for PKR 25,000 subsistence payments to approximately 140,000 IDP families, allowing the GoP to complete payments to all verified IDP families from Malakand Division, including newly verified families. By financing over one third of the Malakand program, the USG funding also makes it easier for the GoP to find budgetary resources for nearly 40,000 families who have fled fighting in South Waziristan, as well as for IDP families from Bajaur Agency, Federally Administered Travel Areas (FATA),who so far have not been reached by the GoP's subsistence payments. ¶6. (U) In addition to this budget support, USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) has provided USD 9 million in cash grants and vouchers and USD 2.6 million in cash-for-work opportunities for IDPs returning to Swat, Buner, and Lower Dir districts. The USAID/OFDA-funded grants, vouchers, and cash-for-work activities form part of a larger early recovery program in conflict-affected areas, designed to supplement the GoP-provided IDP support payments. Patterson