President Zardari urges Sindh Govt to focus better rebuilding phase in> flood-hit areas

KARACHI, Sep 05 President Asif Ali Zardari called upon the government> particularly Government of Sindh to focus the attention in the> reconstruction phase of floods not merely at rebuilding but 'rebuilding better'. He said this while addressing a special meeting of the Sindh Cabinet in the Chief Minister House Karachi here on Sunday which was also attended by the Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Advisor to CM Sindh Jameel Soomro, provincial ministers and senior ranking officials.Spokesperson to President Farhatullah Babar said that the President said> that the world had come to the help of Pakistan in its hour of distress but it was also the responsibility of our well do people to make generous contribution towards flood relief and rehabilitation.Half of Sindh has been devastated and the other half which escaped the disaster should step forward and help the people ravaged by floods, he said adding also that this principle could be followed in other provinces as well. Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as saying that federal and provincial finance ministers should give a serious thought to locally raising revenues for assisting in the flood victims' rehabilitation. This will also send a very strong and positive message to the international community that we are ready to help ourselves and deserve generous international aid, he said. President Zardari said that we have to create circumstances and conditions in which people gained confidence and give them hopes of a speedy> rehabilitation. "Hope is light and hope is life", the President remarked.The President also emphasized the need for absolute transparency in the relief and rehabilitation exercise. Any doubt or misgiving about> transparency will bring into question the whole exercise of relief work and dash the peoples' hopes, he said. "We simply cannot afford this", the President remarked.The President also advised the provincial government to consider cancelling the leave and holidays of ministers and government employees and direct them> to spend Eid with the flood victims assisting them in relief and rehabilitation.Farhatullah Babar said that the President also directed speeding up the damage and need assessment. He said that the Asian Development Bank and> World Bank have already agreed to carry at the damage and need assessment of the devastated areas and called upon government departments and state functionaries to assist the international bodies in this task.The special meeting of the Sindh cabinet was also addressed by the Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.