BANGKOK, 16 March 2009 (IRIN) - The Myanmar government has extended the operations of the Tripartite Core Group (TCG) - regarded as key in bringing oversees relief and reconstruction efforts to the country’s cyclone-hit areas - for another year.
The body, set up last June, brings together representatives of the UN, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the government to coordinate and monitor efforts to rebuild the areas devastated last May by Cyclone Nargis, which left 140,000 people dead or missing and affected millions more.
“The extension reflects ASEAN’s confidence that the mechanism is working efficiently in facilitating the distribution and utilisation of assistance from the international community to support the Government of the Union of Myanmar’s relief and recovery efforts,” the TCG chairman, Kyaw Thu, was quoted as saying in a statement.
“It also shows the Government of Myanmar’s trust in the TCG partners to continue helping the cyclone-affected people,” he added.
“The TCG has proven to be an invaluable mechanism to help coordinate and facilitate the efforts on the ground, and the extension of this partnership will further facilitate and quicken the recovery phase,” Bishow Parajuli, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, told IRIN.
“Nevertheless, it remains a continuous challenge to get sufficient funding for the large-scale recovery needs,” he added.
When the group announced the three-year Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP) (see: www.asean.org) in February and appealed for funding, most major donors said their continued support for the reconstruction efforts in the Myanmar was contingent on the TCG being extended, at least for a year. The detailed plan was costed at close to US$700 million.
“The UN in Myanmar, as well as the humanitarian community, is positive that the donors will continue supporting the Nargis-affected communities, and even more so now that the TCG mandate has been extended,” Parajuli said.
“The EU has provided considerable support to the victims of cyclone Nargis in the Ayeyarwady Delta, and the delivery and monitoring of this aid has been greatly facilitated by the TCG,” David Lipman, ambassador of the European Commission to Thailand, Myanmar, Lao PRD and Cambodia, told IRIN.
“While our support is not directly dependent on the extension of the TCG, we are as a consequence more comfortable to continue our work to assist recovery,” he said.
Caution
However, criticism has been levelled against the post-Nargis relief and reconstruction efforts by two institutions - the John Hopkins University School of Public Health in the United States and Burma Economic Watch at the Australian Macquarie University.
“The people of the delta told us how the Burmese military regime hindered cyclone-relief efforts, confiscated aid supplies and land, and used forced labour, including forced child labour, in its reconstruction efforts,” Chris Beyer, who coordinated the John Hopkins University study, told IRIN.
The Australian study states that virtually all reconstruction is dominated by the military government in a “top-down” role that excludes the private sector and is condoned by the PONREPP.
“It is a throwback to the state-driven, planning mindset that in the 1950s and 1960s condemned countless developing countries to stagnation and retreat,” said Sean Turnell, a professor of economics, who heads Burma Economic Watch (see: www.burmaeconomicwatch.blogspot.com).
UN coordinator Parajuli says there are procedures in place to track the funds and ensure full accountability and transparency. There have been periodic reviews, including after six months, made public in November, and work has begun on a comprehensive report into activities one year later.
“I confirm that the assistance has reached even the most remote villages; at the same time, it is obvious that much more needs to be done,” Parajuli said.
ly/ds/mw/bp
Theme(s): (IRIN) Aid Policy, (IRIN) Food Security, (IRIN) Health & Nutrition
No comments:
Post a Comment