TI Pakistan willing to hold international workshop for relief

Transparency International Pakistan is ready to hold an international workshop for flood relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction, if the Government of Pakistan agreed. "Donors are reluctant to assist flood rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts," because the government did not follow the recommendations for a "framework of good practice and stakeholder responsibilities", Transparency International Pakistan Chairman Syed Adil Gilani said in a letter sent to Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on August 12.
He said, "we have to prove our credibility as donors are shy and they need to know what practical steps the government is taking after their experience of misuse of donations for 2005 earthquake." He referred to the workshop convened by Transparency International, Berlin and Transparency International Pakistan to support transparency measures and curb the risk of corruption, mismanagement and waste in country's reconstruction efforts, held in Islamabad on February 7 & 8, 2006.
The event entitled "Ensuring the transparent use of earthquake reconstruction" was inaugurated by Shaukat Aziz, former Prime Minister of Pakistan. It had brought together participants from key government agencies, donors and civil society, as well as international experts in disaster relief. The discussions built on lessons learned from previous natural disasters including the Tsunami and the Gujrat earthquake.
Gilani pointed out in his letter that the workshop produced concrete recommendations for a framework of good practice and stakeholder responsibilities. The recommendations focused on the importance of participatory decision making, transparency and monitoring of aid flows, monitoring and evaluation of procurement and service delivery, and effective enforcement and complaint-handling mechanisms. The workshop drew on lessons learned from the response to previous disasters, as well as considering the specific impact of the Pakistan earthquake and the national context.
Transparency International Pakistan Chairman has regretted that unfortunately the government did not follow these recommendations and the result "is obvious that donors are reluctant to assist flood rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts." These works need far more funds than what Pakistan received (six billion dollars) in 2005 earthquake. One estimate is that it may be over 15 billion dollars, Gilani said.