Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Tuesday sought help of international community and donors to complete Rs 100 billion education projects in the earthquake hit areas of Azad Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Addressing the donors' conference of Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra), he said that untiring sense of commitment needs to be taken forward to ensure completion of leftover projects.
Though projects and programmes worth Rs 365 billion have been completed, concerted efforts are required to complete the remaining projects worth Rs 100 billion, most of which are educational facilities. The Prime Minister said that an incomplete reconstruction portfolio would result in disproportionate progress in different sectors.
Some programmes such as housing, water and sanitation stand completed, education, but the most important sector lags behind. This needs to be addressed immediately lest the imbalance should weaken the cumulative impact of completed programmes, added Gilani.
He said that the government cannot afford to delay completion of Erra's reconstruction agenda and keep the people of AJK and KP waiting. He said that expeditious implementation of projects in the earthquake-hit areas depends on the availability of requisite funds. The Prime Minister said that his government would continue to support Erra's endeavours, but urged the international community and particularly the donors "to help us in our efforts, especially in the education sector".
Gilani said that it is indeed a matter of great privilege and pleasure for him to speak to the participants of Donors and Sponsors Conference and acknowledged that they stood by the people and the government of Pakistan to help the affectees of mega disasters in Pakistan whether it was earthquake 2005, internally displaced persons (IDPs) crisis during 2008-2009 or the floods of 2010.
Gilani claimed that the Erra had accomplished various targets such as the completion of early relief phase at a cost of Rs 130 billion, construction of over 600,000 seismically safe houses at a cost of Rs 76 billion, and completion of over 7100 infrastructure projects at the cost of Rs 150 billion. The Erra, he said, also completed water and sanitation programme, disaster risk management programme, medical rehabilitation of persons with disabilities programme, legal aid programme, provision of land for houses to the landless people, gender equality programme and many other interventions in the social sector.
He said that he was pleased that to date Erra and its partners have implemented projects and programmes worth Rs 365 billion in the earthquake affected areas, which have brought a sea of change in the quality of life in the disaster-hit areas. Realisation of Erra's mission to "Build Back Better" in the nine earthquake affected districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and KP would not have been possible without the unrelenting support of bilateral and multilateral donors and sponsors.
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Head of the Mission of Saudi Arabia, representative of Asian Development Bank (ADB), representative of International Development Organisation, Head of USAID, and representative of US Director Information Cente speaking at the conference said that they have supported Pakistan in the past and would continue to do so.