| Accountancy UK, May 2006
Now four months into his tenure as Assistant Country Director in
Sudan for Irish aid agency GOAL, Mark Blackett has been using his
auditing and accounting background to good effect, helping oversee
relief, rehabilitation and development work in Africa's largest
and most troubled country.
After five years working in Sudan's southern neighbour Uganda,
former KPMG man Blackett is now based in Sudan's capital city Khartoum,
sitting at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile.
After a 22-year civil conflict, 2 million conflict-related deaths,
and up to 6.7 million people displaced, Sudan lacks basic amenities
in healthcare, clean water provision, sanitation. Infrastructure
deficits are manifest - particularly in the south. And an ongoing
conflict in the western Darfur region has left between 200,000 -
400,000 dead and 2 million remain displaced, living in camps and
dependent on aid agencies for healthcare, sanitation, clean water
and food.
Moreover, as a recent UN survey showed, over 7 million Sudanese
still depend on food of some sort. High grain prices mean that despite
a good harvest, not everyone has access to enough food and malnutrition
rates are high in the east and south of the country.
On the positive side, a 2005 deal between the Sudanese government,
and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), ended
the north-south conflict.
GOAL runs 10 programme locations across Sudan, Africa's largest
country, which is home to a diverse cultural, religious, political
and socio-economic topography. Depending on the locations, and political-security-economic
situation, the work can involve emergency relief, recovery from
conflict, or development work - such as the vocational skills training
given to displaced people now placed in parts of eastern and southern
Sudan.
GOAL works to help a half a million people across Sudan - a country
the size of western Europe. Big country, big problems, big operation.
But Blackett says, "I am essentially an optimist. You can
see the potential for change that has been brought about by the
peace agreement when you see that former foes like the Sudanese
Army and SPLA can share barracks together now, then you get the
feeling that things are changing for better but then you have a
situation like Darfur which is a massive unresolved problem."
Describing his motivation in getting into development and humanitarian
relief work, Blackett said:
"I was looking for a more challenging role in a non-western
environment, and reading publications such as the New Internationalist
spurred me to want to use my skills in international development."
"Auditing might sometimes be classed as boring, in conventional
thinking. But it is not. You get to know the clients, their businesses,
and see a lot of different operational procedures in different industries
and sectors. So in terms of moving to Africa to do this kind of
work, there are a lot of transferable skills, learning and aptitudes."
Reflecting on the difference between his work as an auditor at
home and helping co-ordinate GOALs relief and recovery operation
in Sudan, Blackett added wryly;
"It is a bit different seeing your output in terms of vital
survival facilities in an IDP camp in Darfur, as opposed to the
output being a jukebox in a pub at home. But it is all service provision
in the end - you just transfer your skills and personality to an
arena where the difference is life and death rather than entertainment."
"Professionals from accounting and finance are always wanted
by aid agencies - and while it is usual for accountants to manage
the purse strings in a given country, there's plenty of scope for
movement into more programme-oriented and management level positions
- certainly with an agency like GOAL, where initiative is rewarded
and emphasis placed on a proven ability to get things done. You
are given autonomy and the chance to explore new directions."
GOAL has 10 bases in Sudan, including three in Darfur, where conflict
has claimed up to 400,000 lives since 2003. GOAL is also working
in 16 other countries, delivering emergency humanitarian assistance
to the poorest of the poor, and helping people recover after disaster
and conflict. GOAL is seeking competent, confident and compassionate
professionals in medicine/healthcare, accountancy, engineering,
project/programme management, nutrition, and other areas to contribute
to its mission to help the poorest of the poor.
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