mozambique: DONORS BREAK THEIR PROMISES

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AIM REPORTS
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541102E DONORS BREAK THEIR PROMISES
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Maputo, 12 Nov (AIM) - Only half of the money which foreign
donors pledged to Mozambique for reconstruction after the
devastating floods of February 2000 has been disbursed.

Public Works Minister Roberto White gave the Mozambican
parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, the disheartening
figures on Tuesday, showing that donors are much better at
providing fine words than hard cash.

In 2000 much of southern and central Mozambique was under
water, as massive floods struck every river valley south of
Beira. The Mozambican government, working closely with the United
Nations, drew up an appeal for post-flood reconstruction costed
at 450 million US dollars, which was presented at a donors'
conference in Rome in May 2000.

To the government's pleasure and surprise, donors promised
more money than requested. When the pledges were added up, they
came to 470.9 million dollars. But it is easy to make promises,
less easy to honour them.

Two and a half years later, White told the Assembly, only 56
per cent of that money, 238.5 million dollars, has actually been
disbursed.

And only 96.5 million was channelled through the Mozambican
treasury: the rest went through the UN, through separate accounts
set up by donors themselves, or through NGOs.

"On the basis of past experience, now that so much time has
elapsed, we don't expect any significant increase in
disbursement", said White.

Floods hit the country again in 2001, this time mainly in
the Zambezi Valley.

The government did not hold a pledging conference in 2001.
But it did submit a list of requirements to donors, which
amounted to 132 million dollars.

So far the response has been miserable, at 13 million
dollars, or just 10 per cent of requirements. The government
could take some small comfort from the fact that all this money
went through the treasury.

The failure of donors to keep their promises meant the
government was forced to revise its reconstruction plans in line
with the money actually available. This was a particular problem
with the health sector. In the 2000 floods, 83 health units were
destroyed or damaged - but so far the government has only had the
money to restore 21 of them.

As for the 45 health units damaged in the 2001 floods, White
said no funds had been forthcoming to repair any of them.

White was giving the government's position in a debate on a
report presented on post-flood resettlement by the Assembly's own
Social Affairs Commission. .

(AIM)
pf/ (679)