Examination of Witnesses (Questions 60-63)
MR BRENDAN
GORMLEY
6 JUNE 2006
Q60 Chairman: You could square that
circle and set yourself up as media consultants. I think that
is what everyone is groping with in the media world, to get that
balance right.
Mr Gormley: They are quite right.
News editors have to be independent. They cannot be seen to be
doing deals with the DEC or they will lose their authority and
the quality of their reporting.
Q61 Mr Singh: Is it a fair criticism
of DEC that your monitoring and evaluation is focused far too
much on the head offices of NGOs in the West rather than their
activities in the field?
Mr Gormley: Funnily enough, the
current trustee view is that it is the opposite, that we have
misinformed or mismanaged expectations of what the DEC is. If
our primary function is to raise the money, we ought to be reporting
back on the robust systems of how we get the money in, what we
spend on it and let the members who are responsible for spending
it and being accountable do more at that end. In a way we are
looking at how can we more fairly project the mandate of the DEC
back to the British public, whereas we have historically commissioned
much more work out there which we then publish. So my perception
is a slightly different one to yours.
Chairman: Thank you very much. Obviously
you have been very successful in raising money. I think the tenor
of our questions and the debate is clearly about how we can ensure
that when the money is raised it is effectively spent. I think
you have answered our questions very directly and very helpfully.
I am sorry it was slightly curtailed.
John Battle: Could I make a suggestion.
Having done the reading before and listened to the session today,
it may be worth our while as we progress with our inquiry towards
the end of it having another session with Brendan to compare notes
again, perhaps informally, just to try and take another view because
I think I am getting slightly counter-wise views, which I think
is helpful.
Chairman: I think that is a helpful suggestion.
Q62 John Battle: It may help in the
structural questions. We have just started and we have ranged
a bit widely.
Mr Gormley: And you have got a
very ambitious programme.
Q63 Chairman: Well, that is the nature
of this Committee; the world is literally our oyster.
Mr Gormley: As I am based in London
it should not be a problem.
Chairman: Thank you very much.
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