Statistics compiled by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Financial Tracking Services (FTS), which records all reported international humanitarian aid contributions, shows Nepal has received humanitarian aid -- cash, kind and technical -- from more than 160 countries and organizations. Such aid has been poured into the country mostly through different INGOs and NGOs as well as different groups and government mechanisms.
FTS also has recorded a separate commitment of more than Rs 30 billion for humanitarian support for Nepal till Friday afternoon. However, only Rs 3.64 billion has been collected in the Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund till Thursday.
Despite the government’s plea to channel fund into the PM Disaster Relief Fund -- a single-window system for providing relief package for quake victims -- many donors either wanted to distribute relief material on their own or through organizations affiliated to them or did not trust the government system.
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Contribution from foreign donors is only about half of the total amount collected in the PM Disaster Relief Fund, according to officials at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM).
Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat have repeatedly expressed commitment for proper utilization of the fund and transparency and that the accounts of the fund will be audited by an independent entity. However, foreign donors have not taken the commitment seriously. They continue to channel their support through their own systems.
Many fear that spending by donors through their local INGOs and NGOs will not be transparent and create duplication of relief works.
The government has so far spent Rs 5.5 billion from the PM Disaster Relief Fund to distribute relief packages to quake-affected people. The government is also appealing to donors and international community to make contribution to the National Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Fund for which the government has pledged Rs 20 billion in the current fiscal year. The government aims to collect Rs 200 billion in the fund.
But the fund has not received any contribution except the government’s own commitment to provide Rs 20 billion, according to Uttar Kumar Khatri, joint secretary at OPMCM.
Preliminary estimates put the cost of reconstruction at US$ 10 billion. The government is preparing a detailed plan for reconstruction of private houses, public buildings as well as cultural and historical monuments to align it with the upcoming budget.
Finance Minister Mahat told Republica last week that Nepal would need $10 billion for reconstruction works.
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