Ismaili News

Friday, October 23, 2009
By Our correspondent
CHITRAL: Norwegian ambassador Robert Kvile has reiterated his government’s commitment to ensure the integrity of the Norwegian-funded Rs1 billion Integrated Area Development Project in Chitral.

This he said while addressing a function hosted by the district government. Speaking on behalf of the nazims, PPP-S’s district councillor from Koh, Abdul Wali of raised a number of important issues and sought answers from the Norwegian ambassador.

He said that people wanted to know why the Norwegians had preferred a profit-making organisation instead of a non-profit agency for the management consultancy of the project. He said Chitral had AKDN institutions, IUCN and AKRSP whose record was that they did good projects at economical costs.

Wali also said the most important body of the project was the steering committee, but its constitution was unknown and neither were its deliberation and how it made its decision known to the public.

He said the steering committee of the project must be broad-based and ensure transparency and oversight of the project. Wali also wanted to know the basis for selection of the three valleys for initiation of the project this year.

He said that if poverty was the basis, Yarkhoon and Arandu should have been selected. “In absence of criteria for implementing the project, it should have been spread out equally across the underdeveloped parts of the district,” he argued. The ambassador assured the gathering that he would ensure that the project was both effectively and efficiently implemented and would visit Chitral in March next year to see it himself. He said that if the management firm failed to do this, it would be made answerable for the matter.

 http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=204646



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