By Deepak Joshi Pokhrel
The nation is in grief after last week’s tragedy that killed more than 1,200 people, and the number is still rising. More than 800 houses were swept away, rendering many people homeless. Likewise, a great majority of the victims have lost their livelihoods, leaving them in a lurch. This truly is a national tragedy, and it will take years for the country to recover, rebuild and rise again.
Immediately after the tragedy, the international community and donor agencies, on humanitarian grounds, extended their support to help Nepal at this time of crisis. Similarly, local organisations and foundations also stepped forward to help people at this critical juncture. Based on their capacity, individuals across the country opened their wallets to support relief efforts. All these acts clearly demonstrate that humanity still thrives in an increasingly self-centred world.
While support—both domestic and international—is pouring in to help Nepal recover, rebuild and rise again, some sections of the population are raising a key question about the transparency and management of these funds. Given the reports of financial irregularities and mismanagement of funds during past humanitarian crises, including the 2015 earthquake, their concerns cannot be ruled out altogether.
To recall, Nepal experienced a devastating earthquake in 2015. With its epicentre in Barpak, Gorkha district, the 7.8-magnitude earthquake wreaked havoc across fourteen districts of the country. More than 8,000 people lost their lives, while infrastructure worth millions was damaged by the earthquake. On humanitarian grounds, the international community, donor agencies, local organisations and individuals extended their support to help Nepal rise again. But the biggest irony was that these funds, aimed at helping people in crisis, were misused by many, including government and non-government officials, for their personal benefit.
As humanitarian crises are often perceived as opportunities to misuse funds, this perception was reinforced during the devastating 2015 earthquake. At the international conference on Nepal’s reconstruction in June 2015, donors pledged approximately USD 4.4 billion for recovery and reconstruction. Roughly half of the pledged amount was in the form of loans, while the other half consisted of grants. As was the case, the anti-graft body—the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA)—documented several cases of financial irregularities involving post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction funds.
In November 2015, the CIAA, in its preliminary report, stated that there had been misuse of government and non-government funds intended for earthquake survivors. The report identified problems in the distribution of cash relief, allegedly to fake or politically connected beneficiaries. It also highlighted irregularities and discrepancies in bills related to the procurement of tents and tarpaulins.
At the same time, the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee also reported irregularities in the distribution of relief materials. It found that 3,199 tents and tarpaulins had been distributed without receipts, while there were no records of 27,709 items reportedly distributed.
Not only were government officials held accountable for irregularities, but NGOs also came under public scrutiny. It was reported that NGOs distributed relief materials to earthquake survivors on the basis of their political affiliations. In plain words, NGOs prioritised survivors based on their political affiliations. It is very strange that NGOs that demand accountability on the part of the state are themselves driven by partisan interests. What a pity.
A contemporary Disaster Accountability Project investigation of 100 organisations involved in Nepal’s relief efforts found significant inconsistencies and a lack of transparency. The findings raised eyebrows, as the investigation stated that it was difficult to determine how much money the organisations had raised and how it was ultimately spent.
Beyond transparency, another challenge that often hogs the media limelight is scammers and their activities. Disasters provide an opportunity for scammers to earn quick money. With the help of artificial intelligence, scammers create videos or recycle footage from past disasters in other countries. They share such videos with people, urging them to help flood survivors through financial assistance. Sadly, people fall prey to scammers’ grand designs and send them donations that never reach the survivors.
The 2015 earthquake offers us a vivid example of how relief funds were misused by some people with ill intentions while the earthquake’s real survivors were left in the lurch. It is for this reason that the Balen-led government has adopted a one-door policy for collecting and distributing relief to prevent irregularities and ensure that assistance reaches survivors quickly and efficiently. Given the risk of financial irregularities, the one-door policy is truly a commendable move.
The Finance Minister has said that any individuals, companies, donor agencies and international communities wishing to provide cash or in-kind assistance to flood survivors should channel their support through the Prime Minister’s National Disaster Relief Fund under the one-door policy. The government has also designated a focal person and agencies to coordinate the collection and distribution of relief.
With a one-door policy, the chances of financial irregularities and mismanagement of funds are likely to be reduced significantly. However, the government cannot remain complacent or assume that the policy alone will ensure transparency and prevent the misuse of funds. Cadres of political parties—mainly the CPN-UML, NC and Maoists—are still active at the local level. In fact, chairpersons, mayors and deputy mayors of local bodies are still predominantly elected representatives of the CPN-UML and NC. Given the political differences among these parties, their representatives could potentially play spoilsport, affecting the fair and impartial distribution of relief funds and materials.
One needs to understand that when disaster strikes the country, political parties should abandon their political ideologies and affiliations in the broader interest of the nation. Similarly, one should also understand that the suffering of the people at a time of crisis is more important than political confrontation. This is a time to display unity and make collective efforts for the fair, impartial and transparent distribution of relief funds and materials to help Nepal recover, rebuild and rise again as soon as possible.
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