Foreign aid spending continues to stagger

Foreign aid disbursement target of $3.37 billion for the fiscal year is unlikely to be met after the country dispatched about 47 percent of the sum in the first seven months.
Between July last year and January, aid disbursement rose 1.22 percent year-on-year to $1.57 billion.
Political unrest in the last three months of 2013 has been blamed for the slow disbursement, according to an official from the Economic Relations Division.

Disbursement is directly related to the implementation of projects and the political unrest delayed many projects, he said, adding that fiscal 2013-14's target is unlikely to be met even if implementation is accelerated in the second half.
Subsequently, the target is set to be trimmed by $400-500 million in the revised budget, the official added.
Foreign aid disbursement stood at $2.79 billion last fiscal year, the highest in the nation's history.
Meanwhile, the development partners committed $1.55 billion during the period, down 45 percent year-on-year.
The ERD official said the government is set to sign more agreements with development partners in February and March, which will boost the foreign aid commitment figure.
The government had expected $6 billion in aid commitments this fiscal year.