IRIN
MYANMAR: Coordination mechanism extended for one year
16 March 2009


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: http://www.asean.org/CN.htm) 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: http://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.

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