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DAM-L Re: ADB to give $35m for mini dams (fwd)
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From: Right to Water <right-to-water@iatp.org>
To: dianne@sandelman.ottawa.on.ca
Subject: Re: ADB to give $35m for mini dams
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2001 02:20:14 -0500
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Message-ID: <20010607071015823.AAV321.381@[208.141.36.73]>
Right to Water (right-to-water@iatp.org) Posted: 06/06/2001 By pbond@wn.apc.org
============================================================
> From: "Right to Water" <right-to-water@iatp.org>
> ADB to give $35m for mini dams
> The News, By Rauf Klasra, 4/6/2001
> Agriculture Ministry officials told this correspondent on the
> condition of anonymity that the ADB would provide $94-105 million as a
> drought mitigation assistance. The officials said $37 million have been
> allocated for rural access roads, $35 million for water resources, $17
> million for agriculture, livestock, forestry, and rangeland support and $4
> million for the health care and other activities.
Three key questions arise, it seems to me (not knowing the
Pakistani conditions, and anxious to learn).
First, Rauf Klasra could have probed the most critical financial
problem: how much of the dam construction materials, the roads, the
ag support and primary health care inputs are IMPORTED? If the answer
is, virtually none (my guess), then why US$ loans, which require
Pakistan to export more to repay? Why not borrow the money for these
purportedly worthwhile projects from local sources?
The second question is, what conditions are attached? The one
mentioned -- that local labour be utilised -- is admirable, but
surely there are others as well dealing with the repayment of the
loan. E.g., will water beneficiaries be required to pay 100%
recurrent costs (to cover all operating/maintenance expenses, as is
the classical neoliberal formula)? Conditionality on regional bank
lending is as bad or worse than that from Washington, we are finding
in Africa.
Relatedly, thirdly, are any social benefits (public health,
environment, gender equity, economic externalities, etc) explicitly
built into the ADB's financial calculations, to justify this set of
rural projects being a) heavily subsidised and b) kept within the
public sector (not privatised/outsourced)? Probably not if experience
with these Washington-parrot regional banks is anything to go by.
More critical questions in reporting (and forwarding), please!
Cheers,
Patrick
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