Foreign funds meant for Jaffna diverted to South

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 April 2007, 01:26 GMT]
Funds meant for development projects in Jaffna peninsula set aside by World Bank, World Food Programme (WFP) and other foreign sources are being directed to southern Sri Lanka by the Government ministries handling the funds, civil society sources in Jaffna said. During the past 3 years, less than 15% of the development project targets have been completed in the tsunami affected Vadamaradchy east and north while more than 85% of similar targets in the South have been achieved, Jaffna secretariat sources said.

The development projects in Jaffna include building schools, houses and providing basic facilities to the tsunami affected people.

Projects for the development of basic facilities in schools, a joint venture by WFP, Italian based Movimondo and the Ministry of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development, were stopped and the allocated 40 million rupees redirected to the South.

The scarcity of building materials and the insecure atmosphere were said to be the reasons for diverting the funds to South despite the advice, given in a conference held at the Italian Embassy in Colombo, to use the funds for alternate development projects in the Jaffna peninsula.

Money allocated for the development of 29 schools selected in Karainagar and Vadamaradchy north has been transferred to south with projects completed only in 5 of the northern schools.

Officials of the Ministries of Education and Nation Building have been responsible for redirecting funds meant for development of the schools, sources said.