ABBOTTABAD, 22 December (IRIN) - The massive challenge of restoring local government capacity across the quake zone of northern Pakistan is gathering
momentum – thanks to a multi-million-dollar international initiative.Hundreds of government buildings were severely damaged or destroyed when last year's disaster tore through the country's
North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Pakistani-administered Kashmir crippling administration infrastructure in an area already poorly resourced.The 18-month project - jointly funded by the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Commission (EC) – seeks to restore capacity by providing new offices, equipment and staff training in a US $5.4 million support package.The
first of 155 prefabricated office units for NWFP, manufactured in Italy, were delivered and installed mid-October in local government centres in quake-affected Mansehra, Battagram and Balakot
districts of NWFP.The units, typically measuring 3.6 by 6 metres, come complete with office furniture for four staff, a PC and seating for eight visitors. Some offices are fitted with washrooms and
air-conditioning.Installation in the worst-hit quake areas in NWFP of Mansehra and Battagram districts is ongoing, with all office units set to be delivered and operational by mid-January, weather
permitting, United Nations Area Coordinator for the province, Anwar Ul Haq, told IRIN.The programme would focus on rebuilding capacity at the local level, providing a level of structure, equipment
and training that would allow a higher degree of efficiency than before the earthquake struck, he said.The initiative is being simultaneously mirrored across Pakistani-administered Kashmir, also
devastated by the last year's disaster. Ul Haq said: "Some local government officials have still been sitting in tents. But this project is not just about restoring government infrastructure and
improving working conditions after the emergency, it is also designed to promote a change in culture and greater efficiency".Some local government offices had not been equipped with computers before
the earthquake, he noted. Meanwhile, training was also being conducted for key representatives and elected members of regional government and national non-government organisations (NGOs), in a
further effort to bring best practice to the grass-roots level.An additional part of the project will focus on restoring the lost records of up to 1.5 million people across the quake zone.A
Pakistani academic with government experience, Musharaf Cyan, is set to arrive from New York at the end of this week to begin data and record assessments across NWFP.Ul Haq told IRIN there was much
work still to be done in the new year ahead, but he was pleased with progress. Earlier this month the British government's Department for International Development (DFID) also expressed a
"willingness to fund" an extension of the programme across Abbottabad, Kohistan and Shangla districts in NWFP, which were also hit by the earthquake.AG/DS
