US embassy cable - 05ISLAMABAD17426

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 ISLAMABAD 017426 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID 
USAID/W FOR A/AID ANDREW NATSIOS, JBRAUSE 
DCHA/OFDA KISAACS, GGOTTLIEB, MMARX, RTHAYER, BDEEMER 
AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA 
SOUTH ASIA RESPONSE MANAGEMENT TEAM 
SOUTH ASIA EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE 
DCHA/FFP FOR JONATHAN DWORKEN 
ANE DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR MARK WARD 
BANGKOK FOR OFDA SENIOR REGIONAL ADVISOR TOM DOLAN 
KATHMANDU FOR OFDA REGIONAL ADVISOR WILLIAM BERGER 
ROME PASS FODAG 
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH 
NSC FOR JMELINE 
EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4/J5 
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER 
NEW YORK FOR TMALY 
SECDEF FOR SOLIC/PKHA, USDP/J3 
JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC FOR J3/J4/J5 
HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE FOR J3/J5 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, AEMR, ASEC, MASS, ECON, KMDR, KPAO, OIIP, OPRC, PGOV, PREL, PK, Earthquake 
SUBJECT: PAKISTAN - EARTHQUAKE: USAID/DART ECONOMICS AND 
LIVELIHOODS REPORT 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. Immediately following the October 8 earthquake, relief 
agencies concentrated efforts on providing affected 
populations with urgently needed humanitarian assistance and 
shelter to assure survival during the upcoming winter 
months.  The USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team's 
(DART) program has provided robust support for these 
activities, but has also taken steps to promote livelihoods 
and market revitalization.  The USAID/DART has led this 
transition and to date, has provided approximately USD 4.5 
million to seven NGO partners to implement cash-for-work 
(CFW), cash-for-training (CFT), and voucher activities.  The 
USAID/DART has collaborated closely with USAID/Pakistan to 
design, fund, and implement programs that can transition to 
longer-term, mission-supported programs.  End summary. 
 
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Background 
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2. Since the October 8 earthquake, USAID, the Government of 
Pakistan (GOP), UN agencies, and NGOs have focused their 
efforts on emergency medical care, distribution of food and 
emergency relief supplies, and shelter activities to assure 
survival of the earthquake-affected population during the 
winter months.  Such activities have been and will continue 
to be important to address the immediate needs of earthquake- 
affected population.  To complement these activities, the 
USAID/DART is also promoting livelihoods and market 
revitalization that will assist people in obtaining their 
own food, shelter, and other needs. 
 
3. To promote livelihoods and revitalize local markets, the 
USAID/DART has funded seven NGO partners to undertake 
activities including clearing roads; removing rubble and 
salvaging construction materials on-site at destroyed 
schools and hospitals; clearing shelter sites and community 
infrastructure by community-based groups; rebuilding 
community infrastructure; performing carpentry work to 
assist in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of family 
dwellings; constructing and rehabilitating latrines; and 
performing other labor-intensive camp-based activities. 
 
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Implementation issues 
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4. Implementation of additional livelihoods activities has 
had to wait, however, due to several factors.  During 
Ramadan, which began on October 4, the vast majority of 
Pakistanis fasted during the day and were, therefore, not 
enthusiastic about participating in CFW activities until 
Ramadan's end in early November.  In addition, the scarcity 
of local NGO implementing partners, poor road access in 
proposed activity areas, generous cash remittances from 
diaspora communities, and the difficulty in organizing 
activities due to the dispersal of settlements in the rural 
hillsides, also delayed livelihood programs startup. 
 
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President Musharraf's cash disbursement scheme 
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5. On November 11, President Musharraf announced that the 
GOP would immediately disburse 100,000 Pakistani Rupees 
(PKR), which is approximately USD 1,666, to the next of kin 
of those who died in the earthquake, PKR 50,000 (USD 833) to 
people injured in the earthquake, and PKR 25,000 (USD 416) 
to those whose houses were damaged or destroyed.  This has 
created disincentives for affected populations to engage in 
CFW activities due to the promise of large inflows to 
communities. 
 
6. As reported septel, this payment scheme has generated 
much publicity, although early reports received by USG 
officials at the Forward Operating Base in Mansehra suggest 
that implementation of the program has been inconsistent. 
Some district governments have already received funds to 
disburse to families that lost members.  In Mansehra, 
officials are allowing victims to file claims in any union 
council in the district, which are then verified against the 
record in the union council where the victim died. 
Battagram, however, is requiring victims to file in the 
union council where the death occurred, as officials are 
unable to cross check records from offices elsewhere in the 
district.  Payment is particularly complicated for those who 
have moved from Battagram's Allai Tehsil to Mehra Camp, 
which is located in neighboring Shangla district.  Shangla 
authorities claim that they will make immediate payments 
based on a death certificate issued within the district 
boundaries that identifies earthquake as the cause of death. 
Abbottabad is using the Mansehra model. 
 
7. To date, no money has been provided to compensate for 
lost housing.  Payment is administered by the district 
governments, with each seeming to have its own disbursement 
mechanism.  As a result, progress is varying from district 
to district.  For example, the Mansehra district government 
claims to have made payments for deaths to the families of 
70 percent of victims, although NGOs claim the actual rate 
is closer to 40 percent.  The Battagram district government 
claims to have made payments for deaths to the families of 
approximately 50 percent of victims.  The Shangla district 
government claims to have compensated 100 percent of those 
who lost family members, but this cannot be verified due to 
the scarcity of NGOs working with victims in this district. 
The Abottabad district government reports to have made 
payments for deaths to the families of 60 percent of 
victims, but NGOs believe the figure may be closer to 20 
percent. 
 
8. District authorities indicate that payments will continue 
until available federal funds are exhausted or until all 
victims are compensated, but no officials were able to 
estimate a timetable for the program's end.  The USAID/DART 
observes that the process of settling claims and disputes 
will likely take many months if not years to complete.  The 
USAID/DART will continue to monitor the implementation of 
this program to assess the impact on proposed USAID 
livelihoods and market revitalization activities. 
 
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USAID/DART-FUNDED ACTIVITIES 
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9. In addition to facilitating the distribution of urgently 
needed relief commodities, the USAID/DART believes that 
livelihoods and economic revitalization will play a key role 
in the food security and recovery of the earthquake-affected 
area.  To date, the USAID/DART has provided approximately 
USD 4.5 million to seven NGO partners to implement Cash for 
Work (CFW), Cash for Training (CFT), and voucher activities. 
NGOs have undertaken assessments, identified priority areas 
and beneficiary populations, and mobilized teams to 
implement programs.  For quick start-up, some NGOs are 
working directly with community leaders rather than continue 
searching for local partners: 
 
10. ACTED: Providing CFW for individuals to clear debris, 
salvage reusable materials, and engage in basic 
reconstruction of the infrastructure. 
 
11. American Refugee Committee (ARC): Providing 
opportunities for 7,000 heads of households to rebuild homes 
with professional assistance, and is hiring skilled 
carpenters to supervise the building process. 
 
12. Catholic Relief Services (CRS): Focusing programs on 
debris clearing, rehabilitation of public spaces and shelter 
rehab/reconstruction are currently underway. 
 
13. GOAL: Providing non-agricultural workers with employment 
on civil and public works rehabilitation. 
 
14. International Rescue Committee (IRC): Thus far, IRC is 
engaging in limited CFW activities to assemble emergency 
household shelter kits. 
 
15. Mercy Corps: Employing local residents to clear rubble, 
prepare sites, and undertake shelter reconstruction and 
rehabilitation at a rate of 100 per day. 
 
16. Save the Children/US (SC/US): CFW activities to improve 
Mehra camp have begun and SC/US plans to undertake CFT 
activities to promote seismic building guidelines. 
 
17. In total, CFW and CFT programs funded by USAID will 
directly benefit approximately 45,000 people and indirectly 
benefit an additional 250,000 people.  The USAID/DART will 
continue engaging in discussions and sharing information 
regarding the implementation of livelihoods programs with 
its implementing partners.  This dialogue allows 
implementing partners to increase their implementation pace 
and efficacy. 
 
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Transition to USAID/Pakistan 
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18. The USAID/DART has collaborated closely with 
USAID/Pakistan throughout the earthquake response and is 
developing a program to transition livelihoods activities to 
USAID/Pakistan.  The USAID/DART will fund proposals that 
both address immediate opportunities for livelihoods and 
market revitalization, while transitioning to longer-term 
reconstruction activities in support of the Mission 
reconstruction program.  Proposed activities under review 
and development include community-based earthquake-resistant 
shelter construction training, which will eventually bridge 
to mission-supported earthquake-resistant construction of 
schools and hospitals.  The USAID/DART is also exploring the 
possibility of revitalizing local markets through activities 
to support micro-finance and/or promotion of business 
development skills. 
 
 
 
CROCKER