Delivery of flood relief

The writer is author of Military Inc. ayesha.siddiqa@tribune.com.pk

There is lots of concern regarding delivery of relief to flood-effected people. Every media channel has its own story to tell about how people are not getting any attention. While an over-ambitious media is partly causing the apparent confusion, it is also a fact that the crisis of service and relief delivery to the flood-affected is a consequence of the absence of a mechanism. The government will benefit if it is to revive the local government system, even if it is temporarily, through a presidential ordinance.

Right now, there are a few mechanisms being used. The first one is the government bureaucracy represented by the district coordination officer (DCO) who is supposed to deliver relief with the help of his staff in the district which is generally reputed to be corrupt and fairly inefficient. The quality and speed of service delivery might change depending on the personal capacity of an individual DCO but the system is flawed. With a stiff-collar and trained to keep a distance from ordinary people, the institution of the deputy commissioner is not geared to assess the needs of ordinary people and correctly communicate it to the policymakers. Not to forget that the politicisation of bureaucracy means that most DCOs aim to make their paymasters happy rather than those they serve.

Despite its flair for publicising issues, the media also has a limited capacity to go out in far-flung areas to deliver assistance. In fact, the constant refrain regarding the incapacity of the government seems to be creating doubts in the minds of potential donors regarding channeling aid through the government. This is not to say that the government does not suffer from corruption or inefficiency, but the fact is that it is the biggest possible tool for the outreach of relief. The enthusiastic Pakistanis abroad or inside the country are extremely effective in collecting and attracting aid which does not mean that they have the competence to deliver it as well.

The international and local NGOs suffer from the problem of outreach. While they can reach the camps, the internal bureaucratic systems and concerns for security hamper their free movement. This has created space for the militant organisations that, besides the military, are the only other entity that are reaching out into far-flung areas. The less politically complex networks such as the MQM have also been successful in providing relief as compared to the bigger political parties who suffer from limitations such as lack of a robust infrastructure at the grassroots level. The de-linking of local government from political parties by successive military regimes has contributed tremendously to damaging the political party structure at the grassroots level.

However, using and strengthening the local government at this juncture is probably one of the only reliable mechanisms. Local political representatives may have their own imperfections, but it is the most credible source for assessing and addressing needs of those who have suffered from the natural calamity. The local government system will serve a lot of purposes starting with the correct assessment of what is needed in a particular area. Right now, the picture of people not getting anything is not entirely correct. Typical of a crisis-struck area, people tend to exaggerate their calamity to hoard relief. This is also done to deal with an unpredictable future, especially when attention will wane.

The other problem is of a sudden demographic shift. For example, in the absence of a local government system that could cater to their needs a lot of people in Sindh shifted to Khairpur. This was driven by their assessment that this particular district will get more aid given that the Sindh chief minister is from Khairpur. Resultantly, the place is inundated with more IDPs than it can handle. There is naturally the fear of other related problems occurring due to mass movement of people.

Given the current situation, the local government system, which is actually an effective tool for service delivery at the grassroots, must be revived to deal with the crisis more effectively. The MPAs and MNAs cannot be expected to do this job because they are not the correct channels. Reviving local government represents walking the talk in delivering relief.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2010.