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The Government has accepted the advice of the Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee and approved a grant of $8 million from the Disaster Relief Fund for the Hong Kong Red Cross to provide emergency relief to snowstorm victims in the Mainland.
Announcing this today (February 1), a Government spokesman said, ˇ§The committee hoped that the Hong Kong Red Cross would help provide timely relief to snowstorm victims.ˇ¨
To ensure that the money will be used for the designated purposes, the Hong Kong Red Cross was required to submit an evaluation report and audited accounts on the use of the grant after the relief work had been completed.
ˇ§Upon receipt of other applications for the snowstorm victims in the Mainland, the Committee will process them as expeditiously as possible,ˇ¨ the government spokesman added.
The Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee is responsible for advising the Government on 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/Friday, February 1, 2008
Issued at HKT 21:23
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