WASHINGTON: Electricity and water projects will be an early priority for nearly $1.5 billion a year in new US nonmilitary aid for Pakistan expected to be passed by the Senate on Sunday, US officials said.
The aid is included in a $7.5 billion, five-year package proposed by President Barack Obama as one tool to combat extremism in Pakistan. He has called the region the “epicenter” of violence and Pakistan is seen as critical to US efforts to fight the Taleban in neighboring Afghanistan.
The aid, which some critics in Pakistan see as infringing on the country’s sovereignty, is expected to be passed by the Senate in a larger spending bill on Sunday.
The House of Representatives passed a similar bill last week.
The funds will be handled differently from previous US civilian aid to Pakistan, with most of it channeled via government and local groups rather than US contractors and humanitarian bodies. That shift has raised concerns among US lawmakers who fear taxpayer dollars may be lost to corruption. Congress has pushed for strict safeguards for the money and the State Department is due to file a report on Monday to key committees on Capitol Hill, outlining how the aid will be spent and detailing controls to curb wastage.
“There are no blank checks being handed out,” said a senior US official. “The strategy is to work more through Pakistani organizations and try to support the Pakistani government’s efforts to deliver services to its people.” The official said Pakistani and international auditors had been sent into about 50 Pakistani government offices, civil society groups and other bodies to conduct “preaward audits,” checking that personnel systems, book-keeping and other controls were in place before they could apply for US aid.
Several Pakistan experts voiced strong caution over the new approach, pointing to the fragile civilian government.
“The Obama administration must recognize the pitfalls of working primarily through a civil bureaucracy, which is as averse to democratic reform as its military counterpart,” Samina Ahmed of the International Crisis Group told Congress last week at a hearing to discuss the aid program.
There are also worries about whether the US government’s development agency, USAID, can cope with the new aid program.
“Serious concerns remain regarding the ability of USAID and the State Department to effectively and efficiently manage and account for such a massive increase in assistance,” said Massachusetts Representative John Tierney.
However, a senior Obama administration official said there were plans over the next year to double the number of USAID workers in Pakistan from the current 80 people and to do the same with local staff too.
