The
Development Assistance Coordination Unit-DACU and the Cooperation Partners
Group held a first meeting in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday, with opening remarks by
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, State Counsellor and Chairperson of DACU.
Following is the opening remarks by the State Counsellor at the meeting of the Development Assistance Coordination Unit with the Cooperation Partners Group.
Objective and basic principles of DACU
Myanmar is committed to working with all Partners in Development to ensure that international development assistance brings maximum benefits to our people. The establishment of the Development Assistance Coordination Unit is in line with this commitment. DACU will seek to improve the coordination and effectiveness of future development assistance to Myanmar, for the benefit of both the people of Myanmar and our Partners in Development.
DACU’s work will be based on internationally-accepted principles of development assistance, namely: that Myanmar, as host country, should exercise ownership, leadership and guidance with regard to development coordination; that Partners in Development will align their assistance with Myanmar’s development priorities and policies, and act in a transparent fashion; and that both our government and Partners in Development will be accountable to the people of Myanmar and to donor taxpayers for achieving development results.
It is in all of our interests to ensure that ‘development assistance’ in Myanmar has a good name. In many other developing countries today, ‘development assistance’ is now viewed with scepticism, and seen as donor-driven and inefficient. Partners in Development have each done their own thing, leading to piecemeal projects, duplication and waste. But through improved coordination, and through DACU working closely with Partners in Development, I believe we can avoid a similar situation here in Myanmar.
Primary responsibilities of DACU
Among DACU’s primary responsibilities will be to: identify priority projects and programmes for development assistance; draw up a national policy for development assistance; review and revise the existing Sector Working Group structures, so as to ensure better coordination at Sector-level; support the Economic Committee in reviewing potential loans and major grant and technical assistance projects; and identify and where possible to resolve ‘implementation constraints’ to the effective delivery of development assistance. I will briefly address each of these areas in my opening remarks, and other DACU members will cover these areas in more detail later.
Identification of Priorities for Development Assistance
Identification of priorities for development assistance requires, as a first step, the identification of overall national development priorities. Over the coming months, through a coordinated cross-ministry process, and based on the government’s twelve economic policies, we will be identifying priority projects and programmes for national development.
As part of this process, DACU will assist Ministries to develop criteria for determining whether a given priority project can be financed through Public-Private Partnerships, national budget, or development assistance. DACU will then pro-actively identify priority projects requiring development assistance, and link those projects with suitable potential donors.
In the meantime, our government has already identified some priority sectors for development assistance. These include basic infrastructure; job creation; and agriculture and rural development.
Drafting a National Policy on Development Assistance
Over the coming months, DACU will be drafting a national policy on development assistance, setting out what kinds of assistance our country would prefer to receive. The policy will also seek to streamline and clarify current procedures relating to development assistance. In drafting the policy, DACU will consult closely with Line Ministries and Partners in Development. The policy will draw on international best practice, but also be based on close consideration of Myanmar’s context. We aim to be innovative and creative, and to take account of the many non-traditional donors and major domestic philanthropists that we are fortunate to have in this country.
Consultants
One of the important issues that the development assistance policy will address is the role of consultants. Many consultants working in Myanmar have minimal country knowledge. Despite this, some- though certainly not all- try to impose pre-conceived ideas and templates onto the Myanmar context. And many government officials, for a variety of reasons, do not feel able to put across their own perspective when engaging with visiting consultants.
Consultants must of course have subject-matter expertise, but they also need to have a sensitivity and awareness to the country context, and a readiness to collaborate and transfer knowledge. Costs associated with consultants must also be scrutinised carefully, so as to ensure they are reasonable and proportionate.
Line Ministries must also be accountable. We will expect Ministries to hire consultants only when there is a genuine need, give clear direction to consultants once hired, and monitor performance to ensure this expensive resource is utilized properly. Ministries must also ensure that consultant ToRs are appropriately drafted. And if Ministries believe that the consultant is not fulfilling the terms of his or her contract, they should take appropriate action.
DACU will be supporting Line Ministries in this area through developing a standardized template for consultant ToRs, and in some cases will be reviewing proposed ToRs prior to approval. Our goal is to reduce waste for all concerned, while making the most of the valuable expertise that we are fortunate to have access to. We should also bear in mind that some consultants have offered pro-bono assistance.
Refreshing the Sector Working Groups
DACU’s role is to oversee coordination at a cross-government level. But coordination at a sector-level is also essential. Among the existing Sector Working Groups, it is clear that some are more active and effective than others. In the coming weeks, DACU will be proposing a revised set of SWGs that better reflect development assistance priorities. DACU will also be setting out guidance for Line Ministries on how SWGs should operate, and SWG Chairs will be held accountable for their effectiveness.
Evaluations of development assistance proposals
The Economic Committee will retain ultimate responsibility for reviewing and approving development assistance projects. DACU’s role will be support the Economic Committee in this process. I wish to emphasise that DACU will facilitate review processes, rather than cause additional delays or become a bottleneck.
Addressing implementation constraints
We are grateful to Partners in Development for already identifying some major implementation constraints that you face. Where possible we have already sought to act.
With regard to travel authorisations, Cabinet has now agreed that Partners in Development will now be able visit permitted areas without needing prior permission. And for visits to restricted areas, we will be reducing the minimum notice period required for submission of travel authorisation requests. With regard to taxes, we agree that in normal circumstances it is unreasonable to impose taxes on grant aid, and I have asked DACU to ensure that this approach is applied consistently across government. With regard to visas, with the introduction of new regulations earlier this month, all Partners in Development should now be able to renew visas inside the country. With regard to MoU approvals, DACU will seek to streamline existing bureaucratic procedures.
Addressing implementation constraints must be a two-way street. On the government side, we will do what we can to facilitate the smooth delivery of assistance. But we also ask that Partners in Development seek to standardize and simplify your own processes, so as to minimize the burden on Ministries.
Implementation / monitoring
Related to the work of DACU is the need for improved monitoring of actual implementation of development projects, including those projects supported by donor assistance. Implementation and evaluation of projects is frequently weak. Reliable statistics are scarce, local project beneficiaries are reluctant to criticize donors or implementers, and evaluations are too often carried out by those with interests in the relevant project. The government therefore plans to establish an ‘implementation unit’, comprising partly of independent third-party experts. The unit’s scope will cover, though not be limited to, projects supported by development assistance. Further details on this will follow in the coming weeks.
DACU- wider engagement
Although today’s meeting is only with bilateral, multilateral and UN Partners in Development, DACU intends to engage with all development partners, in the broadest sense of the term. The private sector will have critical role in the country’s development. Grants and loans alone cannot address our massive infrastructure requirements, or foster sustainable long-term job creation. Coordination between government, private sector, and Partners in Development will be key to bringing in the investment that we need. DACU also intends to further strengthen our government’s engagement with CSOs, INGOs, and major domestic and international philanthropists, to encourage greater coordination and alignment of their valuable efforts with our national priorities.
Conclusion
DACU seeks to be innovative, dynamic and creative, and we welcome your ideas and feedback on how to improve the unit’s effectiveness. Looking ahead, we plan to hold a larger development forum before Thingyan, at which we hope to be able to present concrete results on the various work streams I have briefly outlined today. In conclusion, DACU will have one simple but challenging objective: to ensure that the generosity and support of our friends here in this room and across the world is translated most effectively into genuine improvements in the lives of our people in the years ahead.
Ref;
The Global New Light of Myanmar
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