 |
 |
 |
|||
| |||||
  |
|||||
|
The Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act
What is the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act? "The Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009", sometimes referred to also as the "Kerry-Lugar-Berman Bill", authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 2010 through 2014 to "promote an enhanced strategic partnership with Pakistan and its people, and for other purposes." This bill is an authorization bill, and as such sets the policy framework and parameters for U.S. Government assistance to Pakistan, as well as for the annual appropriations legislation through which USAID receives its funding. USAID does not receive any additional funding based on this bill directly, although the bill will affect the types of programs and conditionalities of US Government assistance to Pakistan. USAID is pleased Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar and Representative Howard Berman support the critical role of development assistance in offering opportunity for Pakistan's people and leaders. The legislation focuses on development areas where USAID excels, such as democracy and governance, economic growth and education, and we're looking forward to enhancing our partnerships with the government and our implementing partners. The bill places no conditions on the Government of Pakistan. The conditionalities in the bill place requirements on the President or Secretary of State of the United States to certify that Pakistan is making progress in the fight against terrorism. Waivers apply should such certifications be impossible to make and the President or Secretary of State determine that it is still in the interest of the United States to continue the assistance. What does the legislation say? For the full text of the legislation, please click here. How much money does USAID receive from this Act? And who decides how much money USAID receives from this bill? This bill is an authorization bill and not an appropriations bill. It sets the policy framework and parameters for U.S. Government assistance to Pakistan. USAID does not receive any additional funding based on this bill directly. We receive our funding through annual appropriations legislation. How does this bill affect USAID's work in Pakistan? This bill sets policy and funding ceilings for U.S. Government assistance to Pakistan. The appropriations process will determine the level of funding for USAID assistance to Pakistan. What have been funding levels to date for USAID in Pakistan? Below is a chart that illustrates the amount of USAID assistance to Pakistan since Fiscal Year 2007:
What is the money being used for? In Fiscal Year 2010, USAID Pakistan funding is being used for stabilization, education, energy, humanitarian assistance, health, earthquake reconstruction, social assistance, agriculture, economic growth and governance. For more information about our projects and accomplishments in each sector, click here. How does USAID/Pakistan make its award and funding decisions? With few exceptions, USAID/Pakistan awards are based on competition. Each competition includes a statement describing the services or assistance program that we are interested in, an explanation of our competition and evaluation procedures, and the evaluation factors upon which our award decision will be based. How do I find out about competitions for grants and cooperative agreements? Competitions for grants and cooperative agreements are posted on Grants.gov. To search that website for funding opportunities with the U.S. Government, go to that website and click on "Find Grants Opportunities" and select "Browse by Agency." Select "Agency for International Development" from the list and check whether there are any listings for Pakistan. How do I find out about competitions for contracts? There are two possible answers depending on the size of the procurement and other factors: Most large contract competitions will be posted on the FedBizOpps website. To search that website for contract opportunities with the U.S. Government, go to that website. To find a particular department or agency, enter the appropriate acronym in the Search box. For example, to find listings with the U.S. Agency for International Development, enter "Agency for International Development" in the Search box. You will then find two rows, one for "Overseas Missions" and one for "Washington DC." To check whether there are any listings for Pakistan, select "Agency for International Development/Overseas Missions." Some contract competitions will be limited to business concerns or organizations operating in Pakistan (i.e. "local procurements"). Notice of these competitions may be advertised in English language newspapers in Pakistan in addition to, or instead of, being advertised on the fedbizopps website. We also hope to post notice of most USAID/Pakistan local procurements on our Mission website. Two years into the administration's plan to spend $1.3 billion a year on economic development in Pakistan, what has USAID done? Among our results, the U.S. response to the catastrophic flooding was the most immediate, important, and visible focus of U.S. assistance during 2010. In close cooperation with Pakistani civilian and military counterparts, the U.S. was "first in, with the most" among the international donors. To date, USAID has provided over $547 million for relief and recovery efforts. USAID's assistance has focused on providing shelter, food, water, health services, and essential supplies to affected communities and displaced families. Last fall, the US committed to providing an additional $500 million for flood recovery. As the floods began receding, USAID financed numerous programs focused on restoring agricultural efforts and businesses. For example, more than 1.5 million people in flood-affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Punjab were able to sow their fields because the American people provided them with seeds and fertilizers. As the new harvest season approaches, we expect to see incomes flowing back to the flood affected areas. As we are in the early stages of implementing our initiatives under the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act, the full impact of our projects will become increasingly evident each day. Please see individual sector fact sheets for more detail on the impact of our programs to date. Half of the funds are being channeled through Pakistani government agencies. How are you managing that? To ensure accountability, USAID signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Pakistan's Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) which authorizes the SAI to perform required audits or directly contract with local certified public accounting (CPA) firms to perform the audits. These local CPA firms are approved by the USAID Office of the Inspector General (IG) to perform audits of USAID funds. Through pre-award surveys of internal controls, and administrative/financial management systems, USAID is able to determine if the Pakistani government and non-government organizations meet internal management standards. Prior to disbursing funds, USAID's Office of Financial Management performs pre-award assessments of all prospective partner organizations, public and private. These assessments examine organizational and management structures, accounting, financial management systems, internal controls, technical capabilities, and quality assurance capabilities, as well as the organizations' policies, procedures, and practices for effective and efficient management of USAID/Pakistan resources. USAID then makes recommendations to mitigate any risks and vulnerabilities identified by the assessment. These systems must pass certain standards to be eligible to receive USAID funds. Certain requirements and standards must be met prior to the disbursement of funds. If risks and vulnerabilities are identified, and the GOP does not meet the established requirements for government to government assistance for any given activity, the money will not be disbursed. USAID will offer capacity building to enable the GOP implementing partner to take the steps necessary to meet the government-to-government conditions, or help the GOP identify another implementing partner that can meet the necessary conditions to meet those standards, or embed a CPA firm to track the funds in order to ensure transparency and fiscal responsibility. Whom do I contact if I have additional questions? In Pakistan, you can submit your questions and comments via our Contact Us page. Our mailing address is: USAID/Pakistan In the United States, you can contact the Outreach and Public Information Officer for more information: Heather Sullivan Lead Outreach and Communications Officer How do I report any concerns about KLB funding being used properly? In Pakistan, we have set up an Anti-Fraud Hotline, which is open to anyone to submit any questions or concerns on the use of USAID funding. You may contact them at: Anti-Fraud Hotline Phone: 0092-21-35390408-9 In the United States, you may contact the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Hotline You may submit your questions or complaint anonymously.
|
