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The Government has approved a grant of $5 million from the Disaster Relief Fund to World Vision Hong Kong to undertake a relief project for earthquake victims in Sichuan Province on the Mainland.
The grant is further to a disbursement of $311 million made earlier for the relief headquarters of the Central Government, The Amity Foundation and Hong Kong Red Cross to provide emergency relief to victims affected by the earthquake in Sichuan Province. It takes the total value of grants for earthquake victims on the Mainland to $316 million.
A spokesman for the Government said today (May 20) that this had been made possible under a fast-track mechanism set up on the advice of the Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee (DRFAC) for the Government to process applications from relief organisations for grants to provide relief to the earthquake victims more expeditiously.
¡§It is hoped that the grant to World Vision Hong Kong will help provide relief to earthquake victims in Sichuan Province.
¡§To ensure that the money will be used for the designated purposes, the relief agency has been asked to submit an evaluation report and audited account on the use of the grant after the relief project has been completed,¡¨ the spokesman said.
The DRFAC is responsible for advising the Government on the policy and practices regarding the disbursement of funding for disaster relief from the Disaster Relief Fund, which was established in December 1993 for emergency disaster relief in places outside Hong Kong, as well as advising on specific amounts to specific recipients, and monitoring the use of grants.
The committee is chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration. Members include Mr Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, Mr Andrew Liao Cheung-sing, Mrs Sophie Leung Lau Yau-fun, Dr Kwok Ka-ki, Mr Michael Lai Kam-cheung, Mr Irving Koo Yee-yin, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury and the Secretary for Labour and Welfare.
Ends/Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:10
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