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On the advice of the Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee, the Government has approved a grant of $1.5 million from the Disaster Relief Fund to Mercy Corps Limited for emergency relief to earthquake victims in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
This is further to four disbursements totalling $8.88 million made earlier this month for emergency relief to earthquake victims in Yogyakarta and Central Java Provinces. This takes the total grants for Indonesian earthquake victims to $10.38 million.
The committee hopes that the grant helps provide relief to earthquake victims in Yogyakarta. To ensure that the money will be used for the designated purposes, the committee will ask Mercy Corps Limited to submit an evaluation report and an audited account on the use of the grant after the relief project has been completed.
The Disaster Relief Fund was established in December 1993 for emergency disaster relief in places outside Hong Kong. The Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee is responsible for advising the Government on the policy and practices regarding the disbursement of funds for disaster relief, 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 the Hon Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, the Hon Andrew Liao Cheung-sing, the Hon Mrs Sophie Leung Lau Yau-fun, the Hon 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 Health, Welfare and Food.
Ends/Monday, June 19, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:10
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