10.1 |
Reconstruction: March 2003 to June 2004
•
co-ordination
of UN, IFI, NGO, ICRC and CPA operational activity;
•
implementation
of UK-funded reconstruction projects; and
•
preparation
of regular progress reports to the AHMGIR.
458.
The IPU would
continue to have responsibility for administering UK
secondments
to the CPA
and for SSR.
459.
DFID sought
the FCO’s agreement to the draft proposal.251
An IPU
official advised
Mr Straw’s
Private Secretary that, while there was a good case for setting up
a DFID-led
Group to
co-ordinate and implement development activity in Iraq, the
proposal as drafted
risked
fragmenting UK policy-making. It should explicitly state that the
IPU remained the
“policy
lead for CPA issues as a whole” (and not just for administering UK
secondments
and
SSR).
460.
Sir Michael
Jay agreed with that advice.252
461.
Mr Straw
agreed that DFID should set up the IROG but, to ensure a coherent
UK
interface
with the CPA, stated that it should report to the AHMGIR through
the IPU.253
462.
The DFID-led
IROG met for the first time on 15 June.254
The first IROG
Action Plan
would be
put to the AHMGIR on 3 July.
463.
A paper on the
management of the DFI was submitted to the 5 June meeting of
the
AHMGIR
(chaired by Mr Straw).255
464.
The paper
stated that while resolution 1483 made the UK jointly responsible
(with
the US) for
disbursements from the DFI, it contained little detail on how the
DFI should
be managed.
The UK needed to settle that issue quickly with the US; spending
decisions
could start
being made in the next few weeks. The management arrangements
needed
to meet the
UK’s objectives in terms of transparency and accountability; in
particular, the
arrangements
needed to meet the commitments in the resolution to use resources
in the
DFI “in a
transparent manner” and to ensure that oil sales were “made
consistent with
international
best practice”.
465.
The Annotated
Agenda stated that the CPA had circulated a draft regulation
which
gave the US
Administration “sole oversight” over DFI spending.256
Such an
arrangement
251
Minute IPU
[junior official] to PS/Straw, 11 June 2003, ‘Iraq: Management
Arrangements’.
252
Manuscript
comment Jay on Minute IPU [junior official] to PS/Straw, 11 June
2003, ‘Iraq: Management
Arrangements’.
253
Minute Owen
to IPU [junior official], 13 June 2003, ‘Iraq: Management
Arrangements’.
254
Minute Dodd
to Manning, 18 June 2003, ‘Iraq: Rehabilitation’.
255 Annotated
Agenda, 5 June 2003, Ad Hoc Group on Iraq Rehabilitation meeting
attaching Paper,
[undated],
‘Implications of and Modalities for the Development Fund for
Iraq’.
256 Annotated
Agenda, 5 June 2003, Ad Hoc Group on Iraq Rehabilitation
meeting.
83