Disaster aid recipients urged to check fine print
Disaster aid recipients urged to check fine print
James Grubel, Reuters/Canberra
The relief effort for nations hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami has
seen generous offers of both cash and kind, but countries
receiving help have been urged to check the fine print of any
government aid deals.
From T-shirts, tents, hospitals and military support to multi-
million dollar aid promises, the Dec. 26 tsunami disaster has
prompted an unprecedented outpouring of global support.
While a meeting of world leaders in Jakarta urged governments
to make good on their aid pledges, analyst Andrew Macintyre
cautioned nations to also ensure the aid was free of conditions.
"People who give money are never disinterested," Macintyre,
professor of Asia-Pacific relations at the Australian National
University, told Reuters on Friday.
Governments and international organizations have contributed
more than US$4.6 billion to help rebuild areas devastated by the
disaster which killed more than 146,000 people and left more than
a million injured and homeless.
The public has also been generous, with at least $730 million
pledged globally to major aid agencies.
Macintyre said it is common for major government aid
contracts, for things such as construction and engineering work,
to be awarded to companies within a donor nation rather than the
country in need.
And if previous disasters are any guide, grand gestures of
money often never materialize once the initial humanitarian
element of a crisis passes.
The dilemma for nations like Australia is the need to have
some say over how taxpayer-funded aid donations are spent, and to
ensure the aid goes to where it is most needed.
Australia has topped the list of international aid donors for
tsunami-hit nations with a total pledge of $815.5 million,
including $769 million for Indonesia's devastated Aceh province.
But officials said it was too early to say how much money
would be available for Australian companies to help rebuild
villages and infrastructure in Aceh.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard, however, wants to
ensure his country has a say in how the money is spent.
Australia and Indonesia will both decide how and where the
money is spent -- a move Howard hopes will head off concerns that
the money will favor Australian companies.
"Australia and Indonesia will share the decision process,"
Howard told Sky TV on Friday.
"That is the best way to deliver aid of this kind because we
will know where it is going, and it can only go on things that we
and the Indonesians agree to."
The money destined for tsunami-hit nations, however, tells
only part of the story.
Many nations, not all of them rich, have donated medical teams
and supplies, while much of the initial aid effort has been on
practical measures such as food, bottled water and shelter.
Britain, Australia and the United States have also sent in the
military to help coordinate and transport the tonnes of aid.
On the ground, in areas hit hardest by the Dec. 26 tsunami
such as Sri Lanka, Aceh, and in Thailand, the aid is starting to
flow in different ways.
In Aceh, where more than 94,000 were killed and almost 500,000
were displaced, the priorities have been food, water, shelter and
medical help.
In Sri Lanka, where more than 30,000 were killed, non-
governmental organizations have been on the frontline delivering
essential food and shelter and helping stave off disease.
In Thailand, where more than 5,000 people died, the aid is
directed at helping the injured, taking care of the displaced and
identifying the dead.
Macintyre said at this stage, most of the aid destined for the
region was relatively free of conditions, possibly due to the
strong public support for the generosity.
"The spirit that governments are responding to is one of
genuine good will, so there haven't yet been any big efforts to
tie things (conditions) down," Macintyre said.
"But six months down the track, just watch."