Most Tsunami-Hit Sri Lankans Without Aid - Official
Date: 03-Feb-05
Country: SRI LANKA
Tilak Ranaviraja, head of the presidential task force to coordinate relief, criticised government officials for preventing vital relief aid -- from dry rations to cash -- from reaching the needy in tsunami-hit areas.
"I am sad to say the state service is not as efficient as it used to be. As of Monday, 70 percent of the displaced people are still waiting for aid," Ranaviraja told reporters.
"The president is not happy with this situation and she wants aid to be delivered to everyone before Feb. 7," he said, referring to President Chadnrika Kumaratunga who is leading the aid effort.
The relief aid Ranaviraja was referring to includes aid from foreign countries and multilateral agencies.
The top bureaucrat said the government needed 10 billion rupees ($103 million) to feed tsunami survivors and compensate the displaced during the next six months.
"I am not sure where the money is coming from. It is up to the treasury to come up with the funds, I am only authorised to spend," Ranaviraja said.
He said bureaucratic red tape, corrupt officers and ignorance on the part of tsunami survivors had made it difficult to expedite the aid distribution process.
"Not everyone is honest, there is a certain degree of corruption, we are talking about lowest ranking officers in the system handling a lot of money," said Ranaviraja.
The Dec. 26 Asian tsunami killed around 40,000 people in Sri Lanka and displaced close to a million people.
Three aid donors said on Wednesday that strong monitoring, transparency and accountability was needed to ensure the external assistance is efficiently utilised.
The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation said in a statement that "nothing was more demoralising for the people in need, and those trying to help them, than to hear that funds are being siphoned off or wasted".