In case any donor agency wants to launch its own programme or wants to build the infrastructure, it should follow the government guidelines on fund management.

After completing the needs assessment, the government will propose setting up a high-powered mechanism under the NPC or the Finance Ministry. The mechanism will function for four years, or at least until the reconstruction and rehabilitation works last.

In a government-donor meeting on Thursday, representatives of the donor community urged the government to make the mechanism “lean and stable” so that it can fast-track the procurement process. They argued that changes in the leadership or key members of such a body would, as happens in the bureaucracy, severely hamper reconstruction.

“The government is very much clear that all the funds that come through the international and donor communities for reconstruction and rehabilitation should be strictly channelised through the government mechanism. We will address the concerns put forth by donors and will ensure that such a funding and executing mechanism would be stable and effective,” said Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat.

He said the government also expects that funds that Nepal has received for emergency humanitarian crisis in the immediate aftermath of the Great Quake should come through government channels.

“Had they at least coordinated with us in relief distribution, it would have been better since the government after all is accountable to the people. It would also avoid duplication in relief distribution and meet the gaps in aid management,” Mahat told the Post.

“Though relief distribution will end soon, we still expect that the funds pledged by the donors and international community are deposited with the Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund,” he said.

But a senior official with a major donor agency told the Post that many donors were forced to distribute relief materials by themselves because of the government’s poor response in relief distribution, inefficacy of the Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund and dispute among the government agencies involved. Only Asian Development Bank, Qatar, Bhutan and some individuals have deposited to the Relief Fund as of Friday.

Some donors have even reported irregularities in relief distribution and said that the government failed to channelise them in a coordinated manner. Some donors have also complained that the government agencies exercised control in relief distribution, which is against the international practice.

A senior official with a donor agency said that donor community was “confused” about the government policy. “Bilateral and multilateral donor agencies have their own priorities in Nepal that can be reflected again reconstruction and rehabilitation. It’s up to the government to convince them and bring them on board.”

Senior Finance Ministry officials, however, said that the government did not intervene in “the initial phase” after the earthquake as donors were putting in money as per the government’s request.

“Now we have reached a point where we need to seek details from the donors on their fund pledge and how they plan to manage the resource,” said a senior Finance Ministry official. “The one-window approach avoids duplication and brings in accountability, for both donors and the government.”