ARRAEB (7)
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Financing Aspects
17. If Ministers agree the funds of the order of £6 million must be
found for this purpose, there are two possible sources :
Allocation of Further Funds from the ODA's Contingency
(a)
Reserve
HMG's disaster and refugee relief is met from the ODA' S
Contingency Reserve. So far in 1989 £2 million has been found
from this for UNHCR's programme in Hong Kong for Vietnamese
boat people. Following other refugee relief commitments
announced recently, including those by the Prime Minister and
the Secretary of State for Mozambican refugees in Malawi (£3 million) and for Afghanistan (£2 million) respectively, the
balance of refugee funds now stands at just over £7 million.
This will have to be husbanded most carefully in order to
enable the ODA to make responses over the remainder of the
current financial year to the heavy demand for refugee relief,
particularly in the Horn of Africa, Mozambique and Afghanistan. The remainder of the Contingency Reserve, on which there are already substantial claims, will also have to be husbanded
carefully to meet unforeseeable but inescapable contingencies
over the remaining eleven months of the year.
(b) A Bid for Additional Funds from the Reserve
The chances of success are uncertain but one option would be
for the Secretary of State to make an urgent request to the
Chief Secretary for an in-year addition to the FCO PES
provision. Routeing this aid through UNHCR would point to
the ODA seeking additional funds from the Treasury. It is
however most unlikely that money could be obtained from the
Treasury in the necessary timescale.
18. In view of the extremely tight financial position, Ministers will also wish to consider the option of not responding positively to the Governor's request. It is possible that a pre-emptive
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