It has been more than seven months since the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal. Yet, as pledged earlier, the government has not been able to establish the National Authority on Reconstruction to execute reconstruction and rehabilitation works in a coordinated manner. While delay in NAR’s formation has affected

plans to rebuild the country, trade disruption at Nepal-India border points — which has triggered a fuel crisis — has made matters worse. If the situation does not normalise soon, many earthquake victims living in high mountains may be deprived of crucial support during winter, creating another humanitarian crisis.

Rupak D Sharma of The Himalayan Times talked to Rajendra Mulmi, Chairperson of the Association of International Non-governmental Organisations in Nepal, on the impact of supply disruption and delay in formation of NAR on quake victims.

The Association of International Non-governmental Organisations in Nepal (AIN) has been calling for immediate establishment of the National Authority on Reconstruction (NAR). How has the absence of this body affected works

of INGOs working in the country?

Soon after the earthquake hit Nepal on April 25, many foreign disaster response teams rushed to the country to provide humanitarian support. At that time, many members of AIN also played a crucial role in providing immediate support to quake victims. In other words, everyone, including the government, teamed up to support earthquake victims. Soon, post disaster needs assessment was conducted and the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction (ICNR) was held to mobilise financial resources to rebuild the country and support earthquake victims. But lately the government seems to be doing very little to help these victims, as it is engrossed in resolving issues facing the Tarai and lifting the blockade on Nepal-India border points, which has crippled the supply system. It is essential to resolve the issue in the Tarai and normalise the supply situation. There is no doubt about it. But at the same time the government must deal with the issue of supporting earthquake victims, as many people do not have permanent shelters and lack basic goods and services. Also, students in many earthquake-hit districts have not been able to move out of temporary learning centres. Inability to address these issues on time may induce another crisis. So to coordinate these works, establishment of NAR is must. Once the NAR is established, the government can focus on other priorities, while NAR will solely carry out post-earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation works.

The government has already authorised the National Planning Commission (NPC) to execute works related to reconstruction and rehabilitation till the formation of NAR. Isn’t this arrangement good enough for INGOs?

NPC can’t be a counterpart for INGOs because it only frames policies and is not an implementing agency. One of the reasons why the government was able to secure funding pledges of around $4 billion during ICNR was the promise made by the government to immediately establish NAR. But due to delay in formation of the body, many donor agencies are now contemplating on directing the funds pledged for Nepal to other countries that are in need of financial

assistance. So, the government must act fast on formation of NAR. Otherwise, it can miss the opportunity to secure funds to rebuild the country. Delay in formation of a strong body to coordinate post-disaster activities has also prevented many local level bodies from working effectively. So, one of our demands is early formation of NAR. The other is smoothening of supplies, especially petroleum products, because the current fuel crisis has barred many

INGOs from delivering basic supplies to quake victims. We have money and supplies, but we have not been able to mobilise our staff to disaster-hit areas to distribute relief materials because of fuel shortage. Agencies providing humanitarian assistance always get priority in every country. But that has not been the case here. So, we request the government to provide adequate fuel to agencies that are trying to provide support to earthquake victims. If the government fails to act fast, earthquake victims living in high hills may not get crucial supplies during winter, which is fast approaching.

You are well aware about the amount of fuel that is coming into the country these days. Against this backdrop, what kind of arrangements should the government make so that those working in the area of providing humanitarian support get adequate fuel?

The earthquake hit the country towards the beginning of summer. At that time we distributed different kinds of relief materials. Now, winter is approaching, and we need to distribute things that could keep earthquake victims warm. To help these victims, the government can ask agencies, like the United Nations, to airlift fuel from abroad by providing duty exemptions or tax concessions. These facilities would reduce the cost of ferrying goods to earthquake-hit areas. If effective measures, like this, are not taken on time, the country could face another humanitarian crisis.

Are you implying the government should declare a situation of humanitarian crisis in the country and mobilise agencies, like the UN, to bring in fuel from abroad?

No, I didn’t mean to say the government should declare humanitarian crisis at this moment. What I’m trying to say is that the political crisis facing the country should not overshadow problems faced by earthquake victims. If quake

victims fail to get winter supplies on time, the situation could worsen. So, we want the government to allocate fuel for agencies that are ready to provide humanitarian support. We are planning to officially send a request to the government in this regard, and we want a positive response.

 

If all your demands are met, what kind of role could INGOs play to support the government’s reconstruction efforts?

Many INGOs may not be directly involved in reconstruction works because most of these organisations are engaged in the area of social development rather than infrastructure development. For instance, many of us are engaged in education sector, which involves operating temporary learning centres, and health and sanitation sector. Many INGOs are also operating campaigns to prevent earthquake victims, especially women and children, from falling into the traps of human traffickers. They are also providing immediate relief materials, like clothes and blankets. However, the latest fuel crisis has affected our mobility and service delivery.

Supply-side constraints seem to be more damaging to INGOs than delay in formation of NAR, isn’t it?

Yes, that’s true. But early establishment of NAR would help us attain the larger goal of rebuilding the country. Also, NAR’s establishment would help the country get funds pledged by donors during the June 25 conference.

It was said there was a lot of duplication in works conducted by INGOs in the aftermath of earthquake. Has the situation improved now?

We must acknowledge that our works in the aftermath of the quake were uncoordinated. This was because everyone was working on emergency mode and was trying to reach out to as many victims as possible. But as days passed by, there was drastic improvement in coordination among INGOs. Later, chief district officer-led committees started allocating sectors for different INGOs, which also helped us deliver relief materials in a coordinated manner.

It is also claimed INGOs do not work in a transparent manner and many do not even furnish details on how they are spending money to the government? Are these claims true?

The government should not lump all the INGOs in one basket and discredit everyone for mistakes made by few. In fact, works of INGOs are scrutinised at multiple levels to ensure transparency and accountability. For instance, INGOs operating here are registered in some foreign country. So, our head office and compliance bodies there regulate us. In Nepal, our works are monitored by the Social Welfare Council. Also, donors who provide us financial assistance audit our works. So, our activities are scrutinised at three layers. However, what is true is the operation cost of INGOs is high. This is because our works come in package and we invest more in systems to raise the compliance level. So, it is not appropriate to say we do not operate in a transparent manner.

You just mentioned that operation cost of INGOs is high. Isn’t there a way to reduce the cost?

Now, many donors examine whether there is value for money in projects that they are planning to fund. If they don’t see value for money, they don’t approve the project. So, INGOs are under immense pressure to cut down costs. But, yes, there are INGOs that are not very economical. For instance, two officials of the same organisation sometimes use two different vehicles to reach the same meeting venue. Such practices should be discouraged. So, INGOs should make conscious choice of cutting down costs, and improvements can be made in this area.