The Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR) was established by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1993 in full cooperation and coordination with the donor committee to Palestine to support the peace process. Projects implemented under PECDAR’s rule, are tendered through the local papers and bids are opened in the presence of all competitors. Most of the work is carried by local contractors while Technical Assistance work is conducted by international firms and consultants.
PECDAR is mandated to achieve the following goals:
- formulating economic and social plans, in accordance with the general policies established by the Palestine National Authority (PNA)
- coordinating the flow of international assistance for the benefit of the Palestinian people
- identifying investment projects and other activities to be financed by the donor countries
- administering and monitoring the implementation of such programmes and projects
- evaluating the economic, social and environmental impact of PECDAR’s programmes and projects
- implementing a process of institutional strengthening and human resources capacity building for PECDAR and for other agencies charged by the Council with responsibility for executing particular activities
- undertaking any other tasks assigned to it by the PLO Executive Committee or the Palestine National Authority (PNA) in the area of economic and social development.
PECDAR activities and projects include: road rehabilitation and maintenance, building schools campaign, empowering the Palestinian judicial system, community development, municipal infrastructure development programme (MIDP), repair & rehabilitation of infrastructure and public building in West Bank and Gaza, and the emergency rehabilitation programme.
There are four operational departments at PECDAR: Administrative, Financial, and Support Services Department (ADMIN); Projects Monitoring Office (PMO); External Relations Department; Economical Policies Department; Aid Facilitation and Coordination Department; National Institute for Administration (NIA); and National Institute for Information Technology (NIIT).
The organisation’s website includes more details about the Council’s activities, tenders and work in progress. It also includes a list of the publications produced by the Council with an abstract on each of the publications. The website links to PECDAR bulletin, and reports produced by PECDAR and by other organisations like UNSCO, World Bank, and MAS. It also links to other organisations’ websites.