CASH WORKING GROUP
Meeting Minutes
18 September 2015
Attendant organizations
UNOCHA, WFP, IFRC, ICRC, UNHCR, SCI, Solidarite, WV, TDH, CHRO, PLANint.
Minutes
- UNHCR Cash/protection consultant ToRs presentation
ThembaSibanda presented his ToRs (ppt presentation attached).He will spend most of his time on the field (Rakhine, Kachin, South East).
The objectives of his 3 months deployment are:
-To assist UNHCR operation to determine whether CBIs would be an appropriate tool to achieve its protection and humanitarian assistance objectives, and if so, provide a set of recommendations on design and planning, implementing and monitoring CBIs.
-To support the Cash Working Group with mapping out NGO and CBO actors involved in CBIs in Myanmar, and assessment of their capacities and gaps, including the integration of protection risk analysis and mitigation measures in planning and implementing CBIs.
-To assist UNHCR and CWG members in Myanmar in identifying capacity building needs and opportunities.
Comments
Solidarite highlighted the global recommendations regarding the appropriateness of CBIs not specifically to UNHCR should be also shared with other CBI implementers.
OCHA stressed that local NGOS implementing cash transfer should be part consulted to identify their capacity building needs.
- Multi sector cash recovery matrix finalization
The main comments were the same than at the last meeting:
-Need to have more details on how were defined the different amounts for shelter.
-Consider amounts for temporary shelter.
No organization in the meeting is currently adopting thespecific multi-sectorial approach suggested through this matrix.
Shelter interventions:
-SCI is adopting a community based approach for conditional cash transfers. Villages (7 in Chin) have to present their development plan and cash will be then allocated (average of 5000$/village).
-WV is planning to have longer term activities in 2016 based on communities needs and it might include cash for shelter rehabilitation (Ayeyarwaddy, Magway, Chin – Falam).
-UNHCR is planning to distribute cash for shelter in Sittwe (300000 MMK/HH for 500 HH) and in Maungdaw based on the level of destruction. No vouchers are planned. Authorities have to approve the beneficiaries’ selection process, which is challenging.
- CFW daily wages
According to different feedbacks, CFW field implementers from various sectors struggle to define harmonized CFW daily rates in the different regions/states of intervention. Different reasons lead to this difficulty: increase of market prices after the floods, changes in local daily wages since the floods, government statement setting 3600 MMK as the minimum national daily wage and big variations between geographical areas (regions/states and townships).
It has been decided to gather as much information as possible on local daily wages before and after the floods in the different regions/states to agree on wages to adopt in each location to ensure harmonization. The information will be presented, discussions held,decisions taken at the next CWG meeting.
Information shared:
- ADRA: Kale - local labor rates (agriculture) – 4000 MMK/day/women, 5000 MMK/day/men Kachin - local labor rates (agriculture) - 7000 MMK/day/women, 8000 MMK/day/men
-IFRC: Sagaing – CFW rates defined with the local authorities : 3500 MMK/day/worker
-TDH: Magway – CFW rates applied 2800 MMK/day/worker
-SagaingMonaywa - local labor rates (agriculture) – 2500 MMK/day/women , 3500 MMK/day/men
Action points
-Points not addressed because of time that should be added in the next meeting agenda:
When to stop unconditional cash in the floods response context?
Regional/state coordination
Monitoring and complaint mechanism
-Get feedbacks from Shelter on the multi-purpose matric (CWG coord)
-Gather and compile daily wages information (CWG coord)
-Share information on daily wages (CWG members)
-Share with Themba your cash related capacity building needs (CWG members)
Next Meeting
Next meeting will be held on the 6th of October at 09h00 at OCHA/WFP.