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CNN Live At Daybreak

Afghanistan in Rubble

Aired January 16, 2002 - 05:14   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Colin Powell will find Afghanistan a very damaged Third World country. Many government buildings are in ruins and basic services such as water and electricity are virtually non-existent.

As CNN's Kitty Pilgrim points out, rebuilding Afghanistan after the Taliban is going to be costly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The country has been bombed into rubble. Before that, 22 years of conflict and widespread famine. Current estimates put costs for reconstruction over the next two and a half years at $5 billion. The 10 year figure, $15 billion.

BILL BYRD, WORLD BANK: Children have not gone to school. Health services are mostly nonfunctional. Children are suffering from diseases that shouldn't exist anywhere on the globe. The roads have been destroyed.

PILGRIM: During the first 30 months, money will go to pay salaries of civil servants and new government hires because the country will not be able to collect taxes for some time. That will cost $1.8 billion.

MARK MALLOCK BROWN, ADMINISTRATOR, UNDP: The big difference between spending well and spending badly is we can all go in and build an American highway or a French high school, but what actually matters is that the new government of Afghanistan is seen by its people to be delivering services to them.

PILGRIM: Those with vast experience in rebuilding war torn economies, such as the Balkans, say it's important to get the funds to local households to replant crops and rebuild farms so people can become self-supporting as soon as possible.

ERIC CHENOWETH, INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY IN EASTERN EUROPE: The main problem is that throwing money just corrupts the society. If you're not using it in a focused or purposeful way, it generally goes tends to go to elites or warlords or people who can just accumulate money.

PILGRIM: In the past 10 years, U.S. AID figures, the humanitarian assistance from the U.S. government, show the pattern of support. Including other funding from the Defense and State Department, the United States sent $183 million last year and is sending $200 million for 2002.

(on camera): The $15 billion number is a target. Now it's up to the individual countries to try to meet that goal. One hurdle is many countries are reluctant to pledge funds for multiple years, waiting to see how the reconstruction goes before pledging more. That will be one of the biggest challenges in the upcoming meeting next week in Tokyo.

Kitty Pilgrim, CNN Financial News, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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