Daily Times

After the successful pledges of $10.9 billion in the recent donor conference for the reconstruction in flood-affected areas in Pakistan, the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives has geared up its efforts for the implementation of the Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Framework (4RF) and the pledges. In that regard, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday chaired a ‘Post Geneva Roadmap’ meeting to implement the decisions of the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan, held in Geneva on January 9. The meeting was attended by the Secretary Planning Ministry, Chief Economist, and representatives of the Economic Affair Division, Ministry of Climate Change, and Foreign Ministry. While chairing the meeting, the minister said Pakistan received an unprecedented response at the donor conference which was a great ‘success’ for the country. “We have to continue the work with the same spirit for the implementation of the pledges without any delay,” he said while stressing the stakeholders to expedite the implementation process. It may be noted here that the 4RF would be materialised in three phases: short-term (up to one year); medium-term (up to three years); and long-term (up to five to seven years). During the meeting, it was decided that a ministerial committee be notified for coordination among all the stakeholders in order to implement the pledges and recommendations of 4RF through institutional mechanisms at the federal and provincial levels. The 4FR document suggested effective coordination and participation arrangement among the federal and provincial governments, development partners, donors, international and national NGOs, and academic and private sectors. In October last year, the Post-Damage Needs Assessment (PDNA) – conducted jointly by the Government of Pakistan and its international development partners, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, and UN relief agencies — had estimated the aggregate cost of the calamity at $30.1 billion. The minister asked all the relevant miniseries to make a timeline for the projects so that they could be implemented timely. For the evaluation of the projects, it was decided in the meeting that a third party would be engaged for the purpose to ensure transparency.