KARACHI, Dec 12 (APP): Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and USAID/ Pakistan Mission Director Mr. Reed Aeschliman after thorough discussions and deliberations agreed to launch a `Green Cooperation’ programme for flood-affected growers and work together for the reconstruction of damaged houses, and school buildings and strengthening healthcare in the flood-hit areas.
The meeting was held here at CM House and was attended by Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, Chairman P&D Hassan Naqvi, Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh, CEO of Peoples Housing Project Khalid Shaikh.
The USAID Country chief was accompanied by Acting Deputy Mission Director Mr. Xerses Sidhwa and Acting Consul General Mr. Liam O’Flanagan.
The chief minister told the visiting USAID Pakistan Director that the unprecedented and devastating floods and rains killed 800 persons, injured 8,422, damaged 2,044,844 houses, perished 436,435 livestock, washed away crops standing over 3,777,272 acres, damaged 19808 school buildings, and 1045 health facilities and caused Rs95 billion losses and damages to the irrigation system.
Murad Ali Shah said that the total financing needs for Sindh were Rs1,688 Billion ($7.860 billion) which was 48.30 percent of the total needs estimated.
He added that if cross-provincial estimates were truncated (only province-specific needs are considered), then Sindh’s needs were 67.60 percent of the total province-specific needs estimates.
The CM said that financing pledged by donors to date was about Rs. 379.56 billion which showed a financing gap of at least Rs. 1,308.44 billion. He added that the significant gap could not be met by the local resources in ‘stressed’ economic conditions.
The USAID/Pakistan Mission Director Mr. Reed Aeschliman said that his organization was ready to help growers by providing them support for the purchase of seeds, pesticides, and urea so that they could start their cultivation. He also seeds that the water courses could also be repaired.
The P&D dept and the USAID team would finalize the programme and it has been named `Green Cooperation’.
Mr. Shah said that the World Bank was providing $500 million dollars and his government has spared Rs50 million and a similar amount is being given by the federal government. He said that the total cost to reconstruct the damaged houses would come to Rs570.167 billion.
The USAID Pakistan chief told the chief minister that his team would sit together with the P&D and Housing project CEO to work out a plan to contribute to the reconstruction of the damaged houses.
The CM said that according to an estimate Rs97.84 billion were required to repair and reconstruct 19808 schools. He added that the provincial government would not be able to bear such a huge expense, therefore donors would have to help the provincial government.
Mr. Reed Aeschliman told the chief minister that USAID would support the Sindh government in the reconstruction of the schools. He added that the USAID and the Sindh government have a partnership in the health and education sectors.
Murad Ali Shah told the visiting USAID team that Rs21.93 billion were required to repair 1045 damaged health facilities.
The USAID Pakistan Director told the chief minister that they would help the provincial government to overhaul its healthcare system.
A meeting between the Chairman P&D Hassan Naqvi and his team was fixed with the USAID team to finalize the modalities for repairing, renovating and overhauling educational, and health facilities.
