TCG unveils three-year plan to rebuild livelihoods in delta

By Thet Khaing (Myanmar Times)

A THREE-YEAR recovery plan for cyclone-damaged areas in Ayeyarwady and Yangon divisions was launched last Monday and will focus on rebuilding the livelihoods of about 2.4 million people.

The government has welcomed the Post-Nargis Response and Preparedness Plan, which also provides for building houses and cyclone shelters before the start of the next cyclone season in May.

The plan, released in Bangkok, was compiled by the Tripartite Core Group and is based on a needs survey it conducted late last year.

The TCG was formed soon after Nargis hit last May to oversee relief and recovery work and comprises representatives of the Myanmar government, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United Nations.

“The close collaboration between the government and the international community over the last nine months has been vital to the relief and early recovery efforts,” the chairman of TCG, U Kyaw Thu, who also heads the Civil Service Selection and Training Board, was quoted as saying in a statement released by the group after the launch.
He said the plan, which was commissioned by the group, was a result of the collaboration on all sides.

The group had also promoted complementarities between the government’s reconstruction plan and the Post-Nargis Response and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP), said U Kyaw Thu, who attended the launch along with ASEAN Secretary General Mr Surin Pitsuwan, other TCG members, and international aid donors and members of international NGOs working on cyclone relief in Myanmar.

The recovery plan outlined by the post-Nargis plan identifies eight areas of activity, including rebuilding houses, as well as educational and healthcare infrastructure, and providing microfinance and other income-generating schemes, until the end of 2011.

The plan says at least US$691 million would be needed for rebuilding work, which will be in addition to other funding appeals by the UN and international aid organisations.

“[PONREPP] underlines the importance of cash grants and micro-credit as components of recovery assistance. It highlights the urgent need to continue the construction of improved household and community shelters, as well as disaster risk reduction initiatives before the onset of the next cyclone season in May 2009,” the statement said.

The UN resident/humanitarian coordinator, Mr Bishow Parajuli, who represents the UN on the TCG, said education and healthcare were other major areas of recovery identified by the plan.

“The recovery strategy further aims at restoring the local education and health systems, through the repair of damaged and destroyed schools and health facilities, and improving household and community facilities and access to safe water and sanitation,” Mr Parajuli was quoted as saying in the statement.

“It addresses the specific needs of children, women, elderly and the disabled, as well as issues such as psychosocial support and return, resettlement and re-integration,” he said.

In an interview with The Myanmar Times last week, Mr Parajuli said the plan signals the continued smooth cooperation between the government and the international community in helping cyclone victims.

“The strategy proposed in the PONREPP has been embraced by the national authorities, humanitarian community and the donors,” Mr Parajuli said.

“I think the launch [of PONREPP] emphasised that there has been good cooperation with the government and also that huge needs exist, so there is still need for assistance and international support is necessary,” he said.

“It is important to note that the success of this plan can only be achieved if the stakeholders remain committed to support and implement the strategy proposed,” Mr Parajuli said.

He said the level of support from international aid donors so far was better than many had anticipated.
“Myanmar received good support, and the international donor community has been very generous,” Mr Parajuli said, adding that the UN had received 65 percent of the $477 million targeted in the UN Revised appeal launched last July.

He said managing the recovery effort would require the continued effective role of the TCG, the mandate of which expires in July.
“The whole coordination of the PONREPP will depend on the TCG, so it is definitely expected that TCG should continue its work,” Mr Parajuli said.
“Its role will continue to be to facilitate the delivery of relief effort and advocate on the need and to ensure transparency, accountability and efficiency,” Mr Parajuli said.

The government said it would consider on extension of the group’s mandate in June. The TCG’s continuation is also one of the conditions set by many international aid donors to provide further funding support.

The British ambassador to Myanmar, Mr Mark Canning, whose country is the largest single donor to the cyclone relief effort, has praised the role of the group.
“The TCG has demonstrated the value of a mechanism which is able to make rapid decisions and to cut through problems when they arise,” Mr Canning told The Myanmar Times last week.

“It has helped to promote understanding of how the development community works and, I hope, has also showcased to those that were perhaps unfamiliar with its excellent work what it can do,” he said.

Mr Canning said Britain was considering providing more assistance for rebuilding livelihoods, as well as for healthcare and education.

“Our role in the delta was consistent with what we have been doing in the humanitarian sector here for some time,” he said.
“We have never subscribed to the view that it is not possible to deliver humanitarian support in this country,” Mr Canning said.

He added that apart from $90 million for cyclone relief work, Britain has also contributed $40 million to the Three Diseases Fund, to combat tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria in Myanmar.

Mr Canning said he hoped the release of the post-Nargis plan would encourage more potential donors to provide funding.

“It has in effect a menu from which donors can choose, according to their resources and priorities but in the knowledge that their contribution will be in sync with what others are doing. It should therefore maximise the impact of every donor dollar,” Mr Canning said.

He said Britain would encourage other donors to increase their support to meet the growing need for humanitarian assistance in Myanmar.
“It may not always be the easiest place to operate but good work can, and is, being done,” Mr Canning said.

The plan has proposed the establishment of three bodies under the supervision of the TCG to ensure that the relief effort is efficient, accountable and effective.

They include a Recovery Forum, whose members will comprise representatives from the government, donors and the UN and other aid agencies. The RF’s role will include information sharing, minimising the duplication of tasks and fund mobilisation.

“The RF would be a deliberative, not an executive body, but its recommendations should carry considerable weight in related policy-setting bodies,” the plan said.
Another proposed body is a Recovery Coordination Centre, which will be based in Yangon and provide information to aid agencies on international funding support and areas where there are shortfalls.

The plan said the third proposed body is a Township Coordination Committee, to supervise field operations by aid agencies.