Sat, Oct 02, 1999 page8

• Public accountability is the key to successful aid distribution

  • Hsiao Chun-Chiu
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  On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a family next door gathered in the alley behind our house to have a barbecue. An old man, who is also a neighbor, pointed his finger at the family and said: "Today, Taiwan is encountering such a devastating tragedy, and many people have no food to eat. You guys have not contributed anything towards the rescue work and are still in the mood for a barbecue. How heartless you are!"

  Hearing this, the family hurriedly packed up the barbecue grills and shamefully returned home.

  When travelling by taxi on the way to the university for my classes, the driver said: "Recently, business has become slack, everyone has donated their money towards earthquake relief, and are left with no money to take taxis."

  At schools, students no longer talk about where to go on the Mid-Autumn Festival, but instead, they are comparing the amount of money they have donated. Those who have not donated any money nor did not help out at the scene of the disaster are described as "so lame." The shame they feel is such that they are unable to raise their heads in front of other students.

  From the disaster relief, we witness the Taiwanese people's sincerity, kindness and the brightness of human nature. Behind every rescue item and every donation is a heart of selflessness and faithfulness.

  But there are still many questions that seem to be worrying the people. For example, exactly how do each of these organizations, groups and units distribute the donation money which they have collected? Is it distributed by each of these agencies, or by the government? If distribution is arranged by each agency, how can they ensure that distribution won't overlap, because each agency operates in its own way?

  How can they ensure that aid is distributed fairly, so that all those who need aid within a given community receive the same amount. And how can the agencies make sure that the distribution operation will not disappoint the intentions of the donors? These are all problems that need to be examined.

  Perhaps some may think that these are all groundless concerns -- the organizations which are in charge of fundraising certainly have the right to handle the money, so why worry so much?

  However, just take a look at what has happened to private relief supplies: some people took up to eight tents each, while some, whose houses are in good condition and decorated sumptuously, asked for great quantities of relief supplies.

  When faced with such a situation in which the organizations shoulder high expectations from their donors, as well as the inherent problems associated with dealing with tens of billions of dollars in donations, how can one not feel anxious?

  Moreover, enterprise donations and the huge volume of individual donations call into question income tax and gift tax breaks.

  The great amount of donations will influence government tax revenues in the future and reduce the government's capability to undertake post-disaster reconstruction work.

  In addition, donations collected by each aid agency are more-or-less public affairs. Consequently, whether such aid will be fairly distributed, and whether the general public will ask the agencies to explain their actions if such distribution is deemed as unfair are affairs of the whole nation.

  The agencies in charge of fundraising must be extremely cautious in their distribution plans to avoid public scandal, despite the fact that their intentions may be honest.

  An ideal situation would begin with the government drawing up a long list of who needs what and how badly. The various agencies could then decide who they could help, given their financial resources and mission statement.

  The government should make public the status of the list, so that if two or more agencies overlap in their "selections," the matter could be arbitrated in a manner that is beneficial to all involved.

  Through such a policy, the problem of overlap can be avoided. Most importantly, due to the fact that the process is made public, supervision would be easy and accountability to donors achieved. Fundraising is easy, yet distribution is difficult. The demonstration of vitality in Taiwan's society has only just begun.

  Hsiao Chun-chiu is a lawyer.
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