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The Government has accepted the advice of the Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee and approved a grant of $648,000 from the Disaster Relief Fund for the Cedar Fund to undertake a relief project for cyclone victims in Bangladesh.
Further to a grant of $3 million to World Vision Hong Kong in early December for emergency relief to cyclone victims in Bangladesh, this grant takes the total value of grants for victims in the disaster to $3.648 million.
Announcing the grant today (December 24), a government spokesman said that the committee hoped the grant to the Cedar Fund would help provide relief to cyclone victims in Bangladesh.
"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 accounts on the use of the grant after the relief project has been completed," the spokesman said.
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/Monday, December 24, 2007
Issued at HKT 18:00
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