The ******** at the top

Chatting to my dad yesterday we got talking about the development industry (more later) and comparing stories. Now my parents did it tough, real frontline stuff - West Africa in the 70's, civil war, death and mutilation in a time when it was considered reasonable to drop pesticides on people. By comparison, Colombo 35 years later looks positively cosy.

We got to wondering how, with all the assistance that is given to certain third world countries, that they still struggle. Sri Lanka is third world, but it also has a head start in many ways, with 80% of the population having finished primary education - a huge feat by third world standards. It has thriving mineral resources (gems), grown resources (tea)and human resources (labour). Combine this with an advanced entrepreneurial spirit, a true desire to learn and get ahead, and I would have thought you had the perfect environment for a budding China or India.

In addition to the above, you also have this huge international group of talented, smart, passionate, well educated individuals who have given up their 'normal lives' to "contribute". All different sorts of people, from literally everywhere in the globe, often with conflicting motivations, diverse backgrounds but with a common belief in humanity and the ability of man to thrive, given an levelling of the playing field.

Every day these people go out and try to turn things around, often in difficult and dangerous conditions. The buzz words are sustainability, livelihood development, skills transference as we all try and try and try to "teach a man how to fish", not give him fish. Yet even that is really, really hard. Because whilst we're working with fantastic colleagues, and receptive participants there are so many obstacles in our way.

Like what I hear you say? Like the physical challenges of working in Sri Lanka. Pre tsunami, all the landmines from the previous 10 years of war had been "mapped" i.e. people knew where 90% of them were. Well imagine what happens when a great big wave hits the shore? Yup, they all move. So you've got thousands of people, distraught, hurt, tired, hungry, emotionally distressed making their way to the only shelter they have any hope of finding, which is of course provided by the international agencies in no time at all on a wing and a prayer. And the employees manning those shelters had to make a conscious decision about their own welfare. Because knowing that there are landmines, and still going into an area to assist voids the insurance that covers them for death, disability, wounding, injury. They all went anyway.

Or for plain obfuscation there is the local agency that none of the international agencies want to work with, but have to, that constantly tries to take over the management of international donor funds with no accountability measures (!), use it's own systems (despite agreeing to use the international one that all the other agencies are using thus making reporting easier - exactly why they don't want to use it!), refusing to sign MOUs (memorandums of understanding) which it has agreed to last year and without which none of the other agencies can start etc etc ...

Then there's the government department that refuses to start a programme which will benefit a third of its population with microfinance loans (a US$200 loan is the difference between a family living at poverty level and being able to set up it's own sustainable business), when the money has been sitting in the bank for 2 years, because that money won't go through them directly and therefore will not be eligible for a 10% service margin .....

And of course every week the government publishes a "mismanagement" campaign against the agencies in the papers, accusing them of non-delivery when the agencies can't deliver because if they allow for the 10% service margin the international donor community will accuse them of fiscal mismanagement ....

Those are just a few of examples, there are loads more. And the really frustrating thing is, that the people who need it the most, those who are still living in transitional shelters 16mths post tsunami, and staring down the barrel of another monsoon under canvas that is no longer waterproof, or in timber with plastic sheeting on it, cannot claw their way out of the quagmire unassisted.

When we first arrived we met up with an interesting Australian who has been doing development work for over 20 years. A real individual, he has lived and worked in virtually every part of the globe imaginable. The sort of character who goes on holiday to North Korea just to see what it's like. At the time that we met I must confess to having found him a bit world weary. Now I realise that he was just pragmatic and experienced. When I asked him why we were all still trying to plug holes in the dam after so many years, his response was: "It's the ******** at the top". And after 3 months, I agree.