Rapid Assessment for Resilient Recovery and ... - GFDRR

Social Accountability, Transparency and Participation: Minimizing Tension and
Conflict in the Delivery of Recovery Assistance
The SIA highlighted some instances where communities reported: (i) lack of information regarding
available assistance: (ii) concerns with elite capture of a range of programs (such
as the cash assistance provided for housing reconstruction and the “One Million Baht
Fund”; (iii) instances where they were required to purchase inputs from particular suppliers
using agricultural loans; (iv) mistrust and concerns regarding future recovery interventions;
and (v) instances where relief had been politically instrumentalized (as part of future electoral
bids for example). With the potential for localized conflict over the allocation of recovery
resources already emerging in visited sites, additional resources channeled through these
communities may exacerbate existing tensions. Developing a comprehensive social
accountability framework to accompany the recovery program will be critical. In particular:
(i) ensuring that information on available programs, resources and levels of assistance
are made public and accessible to beneficiaries on a timely basis through appropriate
channels and that a complaints mechanism is established (using a confidential hot-line
for example); (ii) that stringent community validation processes are used to confirm lists
of eligible beneficiaries for the measures proposed above (in particular for the targeting of
cash transfers and selection of participants in public work schemes); and (iii) that partnerships
with civil society organizations, research institutions and the media are established
for effective third party monitoring of the recovery effort. Media in particular has played a
critical role in improving the transparency of the relief effort.
238 THAI FLOOD 2011 RAPID ASSESSMENT FOR RESILIENT RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION PLANNING