Nittewa

The Daily Mirror this morning led with an 'exclusive' containing what they claim to be the 'full draft' of the Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure (PTOMS), better known as the Joint Mechanism.

No one has come forward to either verify or dispute their claim that this is indeed what the PTOMS is going to look like. That may happen at some point today.

For now I'm just going to republish stuff from the article here. The Daily Mirror site does not allow is because you have to register and sign in to read the news. I believe information like this should be free, even online and be available for discussion anywhere. So here goes.


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The Daily Mirror 13/06/05
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of a Post-tsunami Operational Management Structure (the 'Joint Mechanism')

Synopsis of the Draft

Preamble
The preambular clauses set out the rationale for the formation of the Joint Mechanism, principally:

• the urgent humanitarian need to effectively deliver relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction to the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities affected by the Tsunami;
• the need for Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim to work together to accomplish this task; and
• the need for an equitable allocation of post-tsunami funds to all tsunami-affected areas of Sri Lanka, based on accepted needs-assessments.

Structure
The Joint Mechanism consists of three tiers:

• A High Level Committee for the Tsunami affected areas of Sri Lanka;
• A Regional Committee for the Six Districts in the Northern and Eastern provinces affected by the tsunami (Ampara, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Trincomalee); and
• District Committees, one for each of the six districts.

Geographic Scope

• The Joint Mechanism is restricted in it's area of operation to the land area affected by the tsunami that is within 2 kilometers of the coastline.
• The MoU will not change the terms of the Ceasefire Agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, which will remain in effect.
  

Non-Discrimination

• The MoU prohibits discrimination against any person on the basis of grounds such as ethnic orgin, language or religion.

Period of Operation

• The MoU states that the Joint Mechanism will only operate for one year, unless both parties mutually agree to extend it.

High-Level Committee

• Functions:
  The High-Level Committee's primary function will be to formulate policies regarding the allocation and disbursement of donor funds for the tsunami-affected areas.
  
  The High Level Committee will also have an advisory and monitoring role.


• Composition:
  The High Level Committee will have three members - one nominee by the Government of Sri Lanka, one nominee by Muslim parties and one nominee by the LTTE.


• Observers:
  Two nominees from the international donor community will attend the meetings as observers.


• Safeguards and Minority Protections:
  Consensus between the three members is required before any decision is made.
  
  If consensus cannot be reached, any member can, upon 14 days notice, suspend their co-operation in the High Level Committee

Regional Committee

• Function:
  The Regional Committee will be responsible for prioritizing, approving, managing and monitoring the implementation of projects.
  


• Composition:
  The Regional Committee will have ten members - two nominees by the Government of Sri Lanka, three nominees by Muslim parties and five nominees by the LTTE. The MoU states that the Committee should have a proper gender balance.
  


• Observers:
  Two nominees from the international donor community will attend the meetings as observers. Other observers may also be invited.
  


• Safeguards and Minority Protections:
  If at least two members of the Regional Committe acknowledge that a decision of the Regional Committee would have an adverse effect on a minority group, then approval of that decision will rerquire seven members of the Regional Committee. This provision protects the Muslim and Sinhala communities from any proposal by the Regional Committee that is, in their opinion, harmful to their interests.
  
  Subject to the protection above, two members of the Regional Committee may request redress when a proposal submitted to the Regional Committe by a District Committee is rejected; consequently, rejection of that proposal will require seven members of the Regional Committee.
  
  This provision allows proposals put forward by District Committees (which may have a greater representation of a particular ethnic group than the Regional Committee) to be passed by the Regional Committee without the necessary consent of the LTTE nominees.


• Regional Fund:
  A regional fund will be set up to make available funds for relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development in the six districts.
  
  A multilateral agency will serve as the custodian of the fund.

District Committee

• Functions:
  The District Committee will identify needs, receive and generate project proposals, and monitor the progress of the projects.
  


• Composition:
  The District Committees that are currently established and functioning in the six districts will be used in this role. However the Committee will ensure adequate Muslim represntation and a proper gender balance.

Comments

Relationship with other development activity:
Normal Government-financed development in the Northern and Eastern provinces will continue as before, including in the six districts, in addition to what the Joint Mechanism does.

Role of Treasury:
The function of actually allocating and disbursing the donor funds will be retained by the treasury; the High Level Committee only formulates the policies regarding these.

In addition the Regional Fund administered by the multilateral agency will be set up by an agreement between the multilateral agency and the Government of Sri Lanka. The LTTE, as a non-state entity, cannot be party to such an agreement.


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posted by Morquendi @  8:52 PM   || 1 opinion/s ||