Interview with head of government's aid coordination unit

As the poorest of the former Soviet republics, Tajikistan depends heavily on international assistance for more than 60 percent of its needs. Emin Sanginov is director of the government's recently established Tajik Aid Coordination Unit. In an interview with IRIN, he maintained that although generous donor pledges continued to be made to Dushanbe, getting wealthy nations to honour these promises was not easy. QUESTION: How much international assistance are you currently receiving and is it sufficient for your needs? ANSWER: In May 2001 there was a meeting of Tajikistan’s main donors, and they promised to provide US $455 million for 2001-2002. Of this, US $129 million were earmarked to support the balance of payments. Another US $286 million for supporting investment programmes, and US $21 million for technical assistance. The donors also promised to provide US $53 million as humanitarian and food assistance. As of October 2002, donors had provided about US $233 million, accounting for 54 percent of the promised amount. I must point out that when we have meetings with donors, they promise one thing, but in reality they give something else. Naturally, when you request a given amount and you only get 54 percent - that is not sufficient. Donors cover 60 percent of our requirements. For example, for balance of payments we requested US $129 million, but we were given less then that. Q: Many third world countries complain of the strings attached to financial aid by international financial institutions. What is your experience? A: Unfortunately, we have the same situation in our country. Tajikistan can only get money after fulfilling certain requirements and demands. However, sometimes such conditions do not favour us. At times the interest exceeds the [actual] amount of such assistance. For example, the Asian Development Bank [ADB] provided us funding for the rehabilitation of the electric energy sector. One condition of the ADB was to raise electricity tariffs. If we meet that condition, our state electricity company will pass the credit limit, leading to further complications. Q: There is an impression outside this country that Tajikistan has not recovered from the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, because being part of that system it was heavily assisted? A: Yes, in reality the situation is like that. We have not recovered from the disintegration of the Soviet Union as 80 percent of our population today lives in poverty. Q: Do you think that enough international aid is coming to the country even when the international community is focused on the ongoing reconstruction efforts in neighbouring Afghanistan? A: I think Afghanistan needs more assistance. It is in a very difficult situation. We had the same situation in the past when everything was devastated [in 1997 after the end of the civil war]. We understand that Afghanistan should be provided [with] international assistance in order to recover soon. I do not compare Tajikistan with Afghanistan, because the situations in the two countries are different. I believe the international community is looking at both countries and will hopefully assist them according to their needs. Q: Who are your leading international donors in terms of humanitarian and development assistance? A: According to ongoing investment programmes in Tajikistan, we have 22 joint investment projects totalling US $332 million with multilateral financial institutions. These include 11 projects with the partnership of the World Bank with US $154 million being invested. An additional seven projects with ADB account for US $89 million. The Islamic Development Bank is also providing US $45 million for various projects. As for humanitarian assistance, many international organisations are here. The effort is headed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, [OCHA] while from the government side the Ministry of Economy and Trade is involved in the distribution of humanitarian assistance. Some international organisations such as the Agha Khan Development Network [AKDN]provide humanitarian assistance from their own resources. The main donors for Tajikistan are the USA, Russia, Germany, Japan, China, Switzerland and India. Other state-sponsored donors such as the Kuwait fund and Saudis are also involved. So we receive assistance for development from many donor institutions and countries. Q: Which sector or project in Tajikistan is an example of international cooperation at its best? A: Our own project with ADB on aid coordination and management of external debt is a good example. Within that project, we have initiated an effective mechanism of coordination between the government donor countries and international organisations. But we have a lot of other good examples. In the capital, Dushanbe, we had two pilot projects on education and health with the World Bank. As these projects were very successful, we have decided to extend them to other areas in the country. Q: What steps are you taking to facilitate international investment in the country? A: The government is working on investments in all sectors. We have made changes in our laws in the spring of this year, further facilitating foreign investment. We also carried [out] reforms in the institutions dealing with the issue and have achieved significant progress.