Tsunami funds languish in banks (BBC)

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By Meirion Jones
Producer, BBC Newsnight

Nearly two years after the devastating tsunami in South East Asia, most of the donations given to help the survivors are still sitting in bank accounts.

BBC Newsnight has learnt that billions of dollars given by individuals and governments have still not been spent while two thirds of those who lost their houses are still waiting for them to be rebuilt.
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"Only 30 to 35% of the people have been put back into permanent housing," {UN tsunami envoy former US President Bill Clinton} said. "We have to do better than that."

Newsnight has accessed the UN Department for Aid and Development database which tracks $6.7bn (£3.4bn) of money which has been pledged. Half of that - $3.3bn - has still not been spent.
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The Chinese promised even more - $301m - and delivered - just $1m. In the Maldives, Kuwait allocated just under $10m but they have yet to spend a single cent and in Indonesia America promised over $400m and so far has delivered less than $70m.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/6193737.stm