A ripple in development? - Channel Research

The category of tsunami affected populations has become more
and more artificial over time. In the Maldives the imbalances created
are very visible when four years after the tsunami, the displaced households
still receive food aid and significant differences in terms of state
aid divide displaced and local host communities. In Indonesia, certain
donors geographically circumscribed responses to a 7 km stretch along
the coastal area when much of the poorer population is located inland.
High levels of aid amplify risks of increased corruption and poor
governance. In the midst of corruption there is a strong possibility that
interventions may be captured by private interests. At the same time
there is also an opportunity for improved governance. The evidence
collected by a Swedish evaluation 33 shows that, in spite of one of the
longer periods of training delivered by the Do No Harm team, the
agencies neglected good practice, at the time of the tsunami response,
in the interest of faster response.
In Sri Lanka, Transparency International claimed that the government
had failed to account for as much as 44.3 percent of the international
aid it had received following the tsunami and that over US$500
million in tsunami aid given to Sri Lanka had gone “missing”. 34 Among
issues raised by agencies were political interference in the allotting of
housing and allegations of corruption against district level officials.
Transparency International recommended that the government establish
a formal complaints procedure.
The survey results indicate that both in Aceh, Indonesia and in Sri
Lanka approximately 60% of the people surveyed claimed that no corruption
existed in finding or building new housing, while a very high
number remained silent on the issue. On an average about every tenth
respondent confirmed corruption in the housing sector. In all instances
of corruption, various irregularities were mentioned including claims in
Sri Lanka about some families even receiving four houses while others
still did not have access to water. The affected population in Sri Lanka
was ambivalent about the role of the government since some public
officials were regarded as corrupt. 35
Almost all the Sri Lankan, Indonesian and Maldivian officials and
aid workers recall how they worked day and night for the first three
months after the tsunami, mobilizing extra resources and putting aside
all other non-essential work. Many disaster affected areas in the three
countries had, prior to the tsunami, remained outside most of the development
programming focus, predominantly for political reasons. The
resulting lack of planning on the part of the development actors, of
procedures and methods for emergency recovery designed not to return
33
Evaluation of Collaborative for Development Associates, Channel Research on Behalf of Sida,
2007
34
Transparency International Sri Lanka, (2007) Three Years after the Tsunami
35
Haug, NIBR (2007).
46