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WB
calls for better relief handling The World Bank in a document released ahead of the two-day Development Forum starting in Kandy tomorrow said co-ordination between the national and district levels, including better allocation of responsibilities between various levels of Government, needed to be improved to handle the post-tsunami rehabilitation work. "The Central Government with the the assistance of TAFREN should focus on setting clear national policies, standards and guidelines for adoption by implementing entities including NGOs," the World Bank said. More than 120 representatives of donor countries and agencies are expected to gather for the two-day event which will be mainly focused on the post-tsunami rehabilitation work. A major part of the presentations will be focused on the issue of tsunami and the progress achieved so far in rehabilitation and reconstruction. The Government's needs assessment for the post-tsunami period has been placed at US dollars two billion over the next three to four years, according to Finance Ministry Secretary P.B. Jayasundara. The World Bank has also suggested that shortage of managerial and technical skills at the district level could be addressed more systematically. According to the World Bank report on tsunami financing needs, the highest percentage of 41.1 percent is from the east while north amounts to 17.2 per cent. However World Bank country Director Peter Harrold said that of the northern and eastern provinces only 10 percent of the affected areas is in the LTTE controlled region. The Southern province requires 29 percent of the assistance while the western province requires 12.6 percent. According to the World Bank report, the tsunami effect is likely to push prices up further this year due to supply shortages of certain food items. UN agencies, the Asian Development Bank, and donor countries are due to make statements at the Development Forum. |
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