Opinion

Delivery of flood relief

The media refrain regarding the incapacity of the govt seems to be creating doubts in the minds of potential donors.

August 28, 2010

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.

COMMENTS (5)

Farhan | 14 years ago | Reply Can you for once get off your one-track agenda of berating the military. I mean seriously, do you even see a national disaster as an opportunity for point-scoring? Anyway the local govt system you suggest sounds a lot like what Musharraff had set up.

Freeha Shaukat | 14 years ago | Reply Due to the lack of central nervous system Field Flood relief activists like myself are co-ordinating, locally and internationally and also with the Pakistan Army by themselves, thanks to progressive Media Moghuls like Bilal Lakhani, who actually have some vision, as well as the ability to IMPLEMENT Genius, we are in co-ordination and communication with the people who will soon be displaying the flood relief coverage map of Pakistan, that will display WHO is working WHERE distributing WHAT to WHOM, and WHEN and HOW. Freeha Shaukat Director Ehsaas Foundation love you Ayesha, tell us the REAL news, btw I'm a good friend of Saira Yamin.

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

SHAHID JAFFRI | 14 years ago | Reply Indeed, Local Government System can play a positive role in this time of crisis. However, due to political motives, the present Government will neverever appreciate such a move. This is the only remedy in helping destitute people as mentioned by Dr. Ayesha. Unfortunately, we always care about ourselves in lieu of others. Furthermore, our Media is also hampering foreign aid to Pakistan. Criticism for the sake criticism will further aggravate the situation. Media criticism of Government policies should be for the sake improvement. Sadly enough, our media is exhibiting the government as corrupt which is creating trust deficit. Such actions of the media at that time of crisis are ominous. It will create confusion and doubts to foreign donor countries. Contrary, it is the need of the hour to convince donor nations to speed up their aid to Pakistan. I am not favoring or supporting the present Government but here the problem is with our poor people. They are in dire need of shelter, clothes, food and health facilities. We have ample time with us to discuss the venal practices of government but not yet.

Azad | 14 years ago | Reply Reviving the LB system would be like adding another layer of corrupt folks in the already corruption ridden relief efforts. Bringing LB reps back for this effort means asking them to work for free and that is not going to work. This suggestion is untenable and should never be implemented. There can't be much help while the waters are still in the fields and villages. At this time the efforts should concentrate on getting food and other necessities out to the people in the camps. Rehabilitation, after the waters recede, would require some herculean effort and Pakistan would be better of setting up of body that has representation of all the donors, NGO and other agencies. Since that is not going to happen, the poor folks would be left high and dry to fend for themselves.

Syed Nadir El-Edroos | 14 years ago | Reply Its a plausible suggestion, but our masters to be wouldn't risk reviving the local government system, for if its successful and is seen doing a better job than the government it will be difficult for the government to reign it in at a later stage.

Replying to X