Governance: Concept Verses Action
Ek Raj Sigdel
June 18, 2009 was the last day of two-day Natural Resources Governance training for forest user committees of Jhalari, Kanchanpur. With the financial support of Western Terai Landscape Complex Project (WTLCP), the training was organised by Range post Level FECOFUN, Pipladi, Kanchanpur. A total of 16 including 50% female participated the training. The closing session of the training was attended by Ms. Manju Singh, Mr. Janak Bahadur Singh and Mr. Ek Raj Sigdel from WTLCP.
During closing session, as asked by Ms. Singh, a member of the training organisation committee read out the expenditure of all the agreed budget of Rs. 25,000 in broad headings, like report writing, resource person and materials. Then the chairperson asked the participants to endorse the expenditure by giving clap. Accordingly, some of his closers obeyed. However, some others showed the gesture of dissatisfaction.
As the training was for good governance, Mr. Sigdel reminded them that transparency is an essential component of good governance. It needs to be practiced. Therefore, he insisted them to bring out the expenditure of each and every penny into public and get signature of all the participants. In the mean time, Mr. Singh helped them writing the detailed expenditures against the approved budget. Then, he got the tentative expenditure of only Rs. 19,000 of the total planned budget of Rs. 25,000. The participants realised that the chairperson along with some of his friends was trying to pocket the unspent money.
Then, one of the participants asked to the WTLCP Officials where does the unspent money go then? Later, Mr. Sigdel responded them that the money has to be deposited at the project account. Surprisingly, some other participants expressed their desire of sharing the unspent money amongst them. This is a reflection of our society. This was not the first of this kind of case that the project had encountered.
Despite repeated request Godawari CFCC, another implementing partner of WTLCP in Kailali showed adamant to form a joint monitoring committee to monitor performance of WTLCP activities at local level. The project put its utmost efforts to convince the executive committee members to work in favour of local, poor, women and Dalit communities. All the efforts to change their attitude went into vain and finally in consultation with the local people a local NGO was identified as an implementing partner of WTLCP in Godawari.
While reviewing underlying factors of ill-intention of both of these aforementioned actors, both of the organisations were formed in a hurry and without adequate consultation with local communities. It seems that they had formed the organisations with the only objective of misusing project fund.
These could be the symbolic actors / organisations of the Nepalese society. From these two cases, it can be learned that reaching to the poorest of the poor by navigating various layers of elites groups that are cemented one above another in a form of pyramid is not an easy task. Strong social mobilisation followed by close monitoring of each and every activity is the must to bring benefits to the poorest of the poor sections of a society.
From this case, I got a mixed feeling, I am very much happy in the sense that we were able to expose the ill-intention of local leaders in front of the public on the other side I wondered how this kind of deep-rooted contractor "thekedari" mindset can be changed, which is essential for attaining the goal of the project.
During closing session, as asked by Ms. Singh, a member of the training organisation committee read out the expenditure of all the agreed budget of Rs. 25,000 in broad headings, like report writing, resource person and materials. Then the chairperson asked the participants to endorse the expenditure by giving clap. Accordingly, some of his closers obeyed. However, some others showed the gesture of dissatisfaction.
As the training was for good governance, Mr. Sigdel reminded them that transparency is an essential component of good governance. It needs to be practiced. Therefore, he insisted them to bring out the expenditure of each and every penny into public and get signature of all the participants. In the mean time, Mr. Singh helped them writing the detailed expenditures against the approved budget. Then, he got the tentative expenditure of only Rs. 19,000 of the total planned budget of Rs. 25,000. The participants realised that the chairperson along with some of his friends was trying to pocket the unspent money.
Then, one of the participants asked to the WTLCP Officials where does the unspent money go then? Later, Mr. Sigdel responded them that the money has to be deposited at the project account. Surprisingly, some other participants expressed their desire of sharing the unspent money amongst them. This is a reflection of our society. This was not the first of this kind of case that the project had encountered.
Despite repeated request Godawari CFCC, another implementing partner of WTLCP in Kailali showed adamant to form a joint monitoring committee to monitor performance of WTLCP activities at local level. The project put its utmost efforts to convince the executive committee members to work in favour of local, poor, women and Dalit communities. All the efforts to change their attitude went into vain and finally in consultation with the local people a local NGO was identified as an implementing partner of WTLCP in Godawari.
While reviewing underlying factors of ill-intention of both of these aforementioned actors, both of the organisations were formed in a hurry and without adequate consultation with local communities. It seems that they had formed the organisations with the only objective of misusing project fund.
These could be the symbolic actors / organisations of the Nepalese society. From these two cases, it can be learned that reaching to the poorest of the poor by navigating various layers of elites groups that are cemented one above another in a form of pyramid is not an easy task. Strong social mobilisation followed by close monitoring of each and every activity is the must to bring benefits to the poorest of the poor sections of a society.
From this case, I got a mixed feeling, I am very much happy in the sense that we were able to expose the ill-intention of local leaders in front of the public on the other side I wondered how this kind of deep-rooted contractor "thekedari" mindset can be changed, which is essential for attaining the goal of the project.
posted by Ek Raj Sigdel at
June 19, 2009
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