§ Ms. PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the items included in the reconstruction work being undertaken in Sri Lanka, to which Her Majesty's Government have pledged £20 million.
§ Mrs. ChalkerAbout £11 million of the £20 million reconstruction grant has so far been allocated to the projects listed below. Of this, about £6.5 million has been spent. Implementation of a number of agreed projects, and allocation of the remaining £9 million, has been delayed by the renewed civil conflict.
Completed Projects
- 40 reconditioned buses for Sri Lanka Transport Board
- Rails and fittings for Sri Lanka Railways
- Vehicles and road maintenance equipment for the Ministry of Rehabilitation
- Equipment for Roads Development Authority's field laboratories
Continuing Projects
- Tractors for Ministry of Rehabilitation for use by farmers in Trincomalee district
- Equipment for Jaffna university
- Equipment for hospitals in Jaffna area
- Support for humanitarian and relief activities of British and Sri Lankan NGOs
- Furniture and equipment for schools in eastern areas
§ Ms. PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the governmental and non-governmental organisations in Sri Lanka that received aid from the British Government in 1988 and 1989.
§ Mrs. ChalkerA wide range of governmental organisations in Sri Lanka benefited from the projects and training financed from our aid programme in the years in question. A complete list could be produced only at disproportionate cost. We also provided direct assistance to one Sri Lankan non-governmental organisation, Sarvodaya, and to a number of British non-governmental organisations operating in Sri Lanka.
§ Ms. PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total value of aid given to Sri Lanka; and what proportion is paid to(a) governmental agencies and (b) non-governmental agencies for 1988, 1989 and 1990.
§ Mrs. ChalkerGross British bilateral aid, including capital aid, technical assistance debt relief, assistance under the aid and trade provision emergency aid, joint 3W funding of non-governmental organisations' projects, and investment by the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) totalled £22 million in 1988 and £23.5 million in 1989.
An exact breakdown of these totals between governmental and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, aid provided through British and Sri Lankan NGOs under our joint funding schemes, from our disaster and refugee unit and bilateral technical assistance programme amounted to about £0.7 million in 1988 and £1.5 million in 1989.
It is not yet possible to provide equivalent figures for 1990.