Transparency International, Berlin (TIB), and Transparency International Pakistan will propose four recommendations, which need to be agreed, and schedule of implementation plan declared by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh at the workshop on 'Ensuring Transparency: Use of flood relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction funds' scheduled to be held in Islamabad on September 23.
The recommendations are almost the same which were proposed at the workshop convened by TIB and Transparency International Pakistan, following the 2005 earthquake, in Islamabad on February 7-8, 2006 to support transparency measures and curb the risk of corruption, mismanagement and wastage the in country's rehabilitation efforts.
Transparency International Pakistan Chairman Syed Adil Gilani told Business Recorder here on Monday that the recommendations could be adopted with some modifications and amendments, if deemed necessary. The four proposed recommendations are: The involvement of affected communities and vulnerable social groups in decisions relating to relief and reconstruction lies at the heart of effective and transparent aid strategies.
The economic capacity and expertise of affected communities as well as local technology and materials should be used wherever possible in delivering relief and reconstruction to reduce cost, ensure appropriate solutions, and assist with economic recovery. Where feasible, existing rural community support programmes should be used in relation to land and property allocation decisions, the rebuilding of community infrastructure and the restoration of livelihoods.
-- Ensuring full transparency in aid flows, allocation, procurement and distribution process, and the national tracking system accessible to everyone are vital. Only access to information on financial flows is, by itself, not enough to improve the transparency and effectiveness of aid flows. The actual outputs of funds used must also be monitored. Government institutions and other implementing agencies should strive to be accountable to the intended beneficiaries of reconstruction assistance by, for example, undertaking regular community satisfaction surveys.
-- Non-transparent or closed/discretionary procurement systems can lead to the diversion of resources away from intended beneficiaries through corruption or uncompetitive processes. Effective independent monitoring and evaluation is key to ensuring the transparent implementation of relief and reconstruction programs, including both procurement and service delivery.
The development and application of mechanisms to facilitate such monitoring is of vital importance. Effective internal control and external auditing (including real time and field audits) should be complemented by community-led approaches, such as people's audits, that reinforce accountability towards affected peoples.
Government and other implementing agencies, including NGOs, should ensure that affected communities are provided with accessible and understandable information about relief and reconstruction efforts as well as about the relief and compensation benefits they are entitled to appropriate formats, and local languages should be used to ensure ease of access by such communities. All flood funds, therefore, must be spent under the Public Procurement Rules 2004, which have inbuilt transparency and self-accountability and access to information system.
-- Ensuring appropriate mechanisms and capacity to capture complaints and enforce anti-corruption measures is also of vital importance. Accessible grievance procedures, including corruption reporting channels and protection for whistleblowers and witnesses, should be provided in the context of relief and reconstruction efforts. In particular, grievance procedures should cover private and public sector employees, the media, and the general public.
Ombudsmen at district level should be in place to enable effective redress of public grievances A toll-free telephone number should be established to allow public complaints to be registered, and handled effectively. Aid beneficiaries should also be provided access to complaints mechanisms in humanitarian organisations, opening up effective new methods of project evaluation and corruption detection.
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