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Chad/Cameroon Pipeline
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what (a) the estimated cost and (b) the actual cost of the Chad/Cameroon pipeline project was; and if he will make a statement on the sustainability of the project. [115423]
Hilary Benn: The cost of this project is estimated at US $3.7 billion, the majority of which is being provided by the private sector. The project is still under implementation. We therefore do not have figures for the actual cost, nor have we made any projections. The World bank group undertook careful assessment of financial and environmental sustainability issues when the project was first designed and continue to monitor such questions.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development, which accounting standards are (a) applicable and (b) are in place for the Chad/Cameroon pipeline project. [115424]
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Hilary Benn: DFID is not directly involved in funding or implementing this project. The World Bank and International Finance Corporation who are providing financing expect commercial organisations which receive funds to prepare audited financial reports on the basis of internationally recognised accounting standards.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what the status is of the design change order for the Chad/Cameroon pipeline project. [115425]
Hilary Benn: DFID is not providing direct financial support to this project. We therefore do not have first-hand information on detailed implementation issues such as design change orders. We have raised this issue with IFC staff who inform us that on a large project such as this, one might expect many design change orders and that as long as they do not affect the project's compliance with environmental and social safety guidelines, there should be no need for concern. There is a process in the World bank group for monitoring the project's compliance with the terms of agreements.
Correspondence
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how many staff have been employed in the Ministerial Correspondence Unit of the Department in each of the last two years. [115874]
Hilary Benn: Five permanent staff in each year.
Debt Relief
Dr. Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development from which departmental budget the money provided to ECGD by the Department for debt relief comes. [115101]
Hilary Benn: While DFID is implementing the Government's 100 per cent. bilateral debt relief policy, the cost of financing this policy is being met by HM Treasury. At the time of the Chancellor's announcement in December 1999, he made it clear that the money paid to ECGD for the countries qualifying for HIPC debt relief would be additional to the international development budget.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will list the payments made by the Department to the ECGD for debt relief, and the dates on which they were made; and if he will list the payments made by the Treasury to his Department in order to cover this debt relief, and the dates on which such payments were made. [115103]
Hilary Benn: To date, DFID has paid £42,359,392 to ECGD in respect of claims made under the Government's 100 per cent. bilateral debt relief policy. I attach a list of payments, including the dates they fell due, to ECGD. Of this amount, HM Treasury transferred £37,004,492 to DFID in the Spring Supplementary Estimates for 2001–02 (covering payments in 2000–01 and 2001–02) and 2002–03. DFID also received £6.5 million for 2002–03 and a further £6.5 million for 2003–04 in the Spending Review 2002
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(SR2000). Any additional costs for the current financial year will be reclaimed in the Spring Supplementary Estimates for 2003–04.
Note:
Payments are made as near as possible to the dates they are due.
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Dr. Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development by what amount the Department's budget has changed in the last three years in order to pay the ECGD for debt relief to highly indebted poor countries; and if he will make a statement. [115105]
Hilary Benn: The budget for the Department for International Development has been increased by £43.5 million over the last three financial years (2000–01 to 2002–03) to finance the 100 per cent. bilateral debt relief policy. To date, DFID has paid some £42.4 million to ECGD in respect of claims under this policy.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mr. Key: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment the Department has made of the cholera epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; what the Department's response has been to the appeal for funds to deal with the problem; and if he will make a statement. [116623]
Hilary Benn: The first outbreak of the current epidemic dates back to September 2001. According to Medicins sans Frontieres (MSF)/Relief Web reporting in February 2003, since September 2001 there have been 19,000 cholera patients with more than 1,200 deaths. During the last months of 2002 the epidemic spread from Katanga to East Kasai province where MSF teams have treated more than 3,800 patients, of which 209 died. Since January 2003, local health authorities and
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MSF have seen an increase in cholera patients in Katanga province with some 300 cholera patients a week in the whole of the province. In East Kasai province the epidemic does not show any signs of stabilising with an average of 250 new patients a week. The health care system in the DRC lies largely in ruins. Cholera is becoming a reality in the two provinces.
In 2002–03 DFID spent £10.89 million on humanitarian assistance, including emergency health needs. We remain ready to respond to urgent humanitarian requests. We continue to work alongside our international partners to help change the situation through our support to the peace process in DRC. Only in this way will improved public health be made possible on a sustainable basis.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what recent discussions the Department has had with the Governments of (a) Uganda and (b) Rwanda about the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [116694]
Hilary Benn: DFID regularly discusses the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with the governments of Uganda and Rwanda. This covers both establishing the Transitional National Government in Kinshasa and also the political and humanitarian crises in eastern DRC, at the moment, particularly in Ituri. We are encouraging both Governments to play a constructive role and to avoid tensions between themselves being played out in the DRC.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what action the Department is taking to prevent ethnic conflict in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [116695]
Hilary Benn: The French government has agreed to the request from the UN Secretary General to lead an Interim Emergency Multinational Force (IEMF) to stabilise the situation in Bunia, in Ituri region. Given the importance of supporting the UN's initiative and the DRC peace process, the UK will be participating in the IEMF. We are in consultation with those involved, including the UN and French Defence Ministry, about the most appropriate and effective contribution we can make.
DFID has recently provided £1 million through the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs for emergency humanitarian interventions in the DRC including Ituri. We are in regular contact with a number of international NGOs working in Ituri, and we stand ready to respond to their requests for further assistance to address urgent humanitarian needs in the region.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what action the Department is taking to support UN Security Council Resolution 1445 on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [116696]
Hilary Benn: The UK has been working with our African, EU and UN partners to promote a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the DRC. There has been progress towards the formation of a transitional
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national government (TNG) since agreement on its establishment was reached on 2 April in Sun City (South Africa). Most candidates for the TNG have now been selected, although there is presently a disagreement between the parties on the command structure for the new national Army which needs to be resolved urgently. We will continue to play an active part in the International Committee for Support to the Transition, in the DRC.
- we have committed US$25 million to the US$330 million World Bank Multi-Country Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme (MDRP) for the Great Lakes region;
- we are assisting the UN's peacekeeping interventions through support to Radio Okapi, the MONUC linked radio station in the DRC;
- we have agreed to contribute to the proposed Interim Emergency Multinational Force for Ituri;
- we are funding a number of international agencies such as CAFOD, Christian Aid, International Alert and the Life and Peace Institute which are promoting community-based dialogue and women's involvement in the peace and reconciliation process;
- we are supporting UNICEF's role in developing a child demobilisation programme; and
- we closely monitor the humanitarian situation. Our total funding to DRC has increased in recent years. In 2001–02 our total funding was £5.56 million of which £5.18 million was in respect of humanitarian assistance; in 2002–03 our total funding was £12.9 million of which £10.89 million was in respect of humanitarian assistance. We stand ready to respond to urgent humanitarian needs.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what estimate the Department has made of the number of deaths due to ethnic conflict in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [116697]
Hilary Benn: There are no accurate figures for the number of deaths due to the conflict in north-east DRC. Red Cross teams have recovered over 300 bodies in Bunia town after the most recent outbreak in fighting there. This is almost certainly only a small fraction of the total number of deaths that have occurred.
The latest reliable figures quoted by the United Nations are for 2002, and for eastern DRC as a whole. These showed a mortality rate of 3.5 per 1000 per month.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what support the Department provides to Congolese refugees in Uganda. [116702]
Hilary Benn: DFID is monitoring the situation of Congolese refugees in Uganda very closely. Information from the border areas indicates that at present the number of refugees is less than originally reported. But we are in close contact with the Red Cross, UN agencies and non-governmental organisations in Uganda who are currently undertaking more detailed assessments of the needs.
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