Among the aid agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international NGOs have failed to maintain transparency in their relief and rehabilitation activities for the quake-affected in the district.
The absence of proper monitoring by government has led to lack of transparency in the work of the I/NGOs. It is hard for government offices to even make estimates about their activities and expenditures.
Tanka Karki, a local Nepali Congress leader who has been attending the District Disaster Relief Committee (DDRC) meetings, estimates that nearly 500 organizations are undertaking rehabilitation activities in the district.
Pawz: Connecting fosters and adopters to rescue homeless dogs
But as per records maintained at the District Administration Office (DAO) and District Development Committee (DDC), a total of 152 I/NGOs are at work here. The record on the aid agencies has not been updated.
The record on the aid agencies was maintained at the DDC after the office made it mandatory for them to enter into an agreement in view of the mushrooming of such agencies in the more easily accessible locations.
Currently, 46 organizations, including aid agencies, NGOs and INGOs, are working in the district, according to Anirudra Nepal, internal auditor at the DDC. Going by this figure, the remaining organizations are still missing. It is not known whether they are still active in the district or not.
The DDRC is also uncertain about the beneficiaries of these organizations. Even organizations which signed agreements with the DDC have not informed about the progress in their interventions.
Such organizations are indifferent about submitting their progress reports, said Nepal at the DDC who is also the contact person at the DDRC.
Only 47 out of the total number of I/NGOs, including various UN agencies, have submitted progress reports along with expenditure details.
The total expenditure shown by the reports is Rs 4,064,320,244. Twenty-four INGOs out of those submitting their reports have spent the highest amount of funds (Rs 2, 637,070, 000) in the district. The expenditure of the eight UN agencies stands as second highest (Rs 1, 412,735,000). Five NGOs spent Rs 501,254,000 while another 10, stationed at Kathmandu, spent
Rs 393,612,000.
These expenditures by the aid agencies reported to the DDC and DDRC are under nine different heads: health and nutrition, drinking water and sanitation, early recovery, food security, education, temporary shelter, housing and logistics.
The report shows that the World Food Program (WFP), among the UN organizations, has spent the highest amount of Rs 713,682,000. The expenditure reports included Rs 404,247,000 by UNICEF, Rs 153,600,000 by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Rs 91,057,000 by UNDP, Rs 23,800,000 by UN Habitat, Rs 17,343,000 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and around Rs 9 million by UN Women.
Similarly, the reports submitted to the DDRC show that Plan International had the highest expenditure among the other INGOs (Rs 391,583,000). This was followed by Oxfam (Rs 321,932,000), WVI (Rs 225,879,000), Care Nepal (Rs 190,043,000), Action Aid (Rs 154,000,000) and Medair (Rs 144,690,000).
Among the volunteer organizations, Nepal Red Cross has spent the highest budget (Rs 398,227,000). CSRC among Kathmandu-based NGOs has spent the maximum budget of Rs 139,800,000, followed by Rs 4,500,000 by Phase Nepal, Rs 70,055,000 by Caritas Nepal and Rs 36,900,000 by Child Nepal.
The highest budget spent by aid agencies in the district is for housing, which is Rs 1,572,500,000. Similarly, Rs 779,200,000 was spent under the head of early recovery, Rs 672,100,000 under food security, Rs 480,900,000 under drinking water and sanitation, 435,500,000 under education, nearly Rs 307,000,000 under health and nutrition, Rs 153,300,000 under logistics, Rs 118,700,000 under protection and nearly Rs 30,000,000 under temporary shelter.
Although the aid agencies and I/NGOs have submitted their reports, their expenditure details have not been made transparent. The reports do not cover the total number of beneficiaries, investment, or type and quantity of support materials for quake victims. Neither have their activities been monitored to ensure their effectiveness.
Meanwhile, Chief District Officer (CDO) Gokarnamani Duwadi, admitting the lack of accountability among the aid agencies, said they should make their activities and budgets transparent. "We're looking for detailed reports on expenditure and effectiveness," he said.
Preparations for reviewing their work are underway, according to him.
Since last year's earthquake, three CDOs and three Local Development Officers (LDOs) have been transferred at the district. Frequent transfer of government officials has also affected relief distribution, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts by the aid agencies.
