Committees Briefing 2000
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International Donor Programs Committee

• Privatizing the donors agenda - July 2000
• Donor funds: Present and future plans and accessibility - February 2000

Privatizing the donors agenda

AmCham Egypt members met on July 9 to discuss "Privatizing the donors agenda." The meeting of the International Donor Programs Committee was chaired by Mr. Anis Aclimandos and co-chaired by Ms. Ann Radwan. The purpose of the meeting was to prepare a position paper that listed recommendations for the better utilization of donor funds.

The three main points of the discussion were: the priorities of the donors and the sector; maximizing the use of the funds donated; and the structure of the donor/recipient relationship.

The first and most important point to be made was about training. Many felt that Egypt needs a training curriculum through the AID program. Secondly, because of inefficiency and lack of personal effort, businesses are not able to approach the donors to allocate funds. To facilitate this process, a clear and organized system must be established.

In response to these complaints, the sector proposed to set up a contact person through the Donors Committee. This person would coordinate meetings between donors and AmCham members.

Another problem that was addressed is the lack of rules and regulations on allocating funds from donors. The system now in use is based on government-to-government relations, and the group agreed that this makes the process very difficult – bureaucracy needs to be minimized.

With the help of the Egyptian government, and the proposals of the AmCham Egypt International Donor Programs Committee, the new program should soon be under way.

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Donor funds: Present and future plans and accessibility

Guest speakers at the January 17 meeting were Toni Christiansen Wagner, deputy director USAID and chairperson of the Donor Assistance Group; Edmund J. Cain, UN resident coordinator; and Robert E. Hindle, deputy resident representative of the World Bank. The group’s topic of discussion was: "Donor funds: Present and future plans and accessibility."

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