xkathmandu

This is the problem that we're facing in Nepal right now. Many of our big bilateral donors have refused to channel their funds through the government. We Nepalis know that our government is terribly corrupt but also that INGOs aren't perfect either. My opinion is that we have to think in the long term. Empowering the government is always a sustainable choice. If you run everything through NGOs, the people tend to distrust the government, which is terrible for any country, especially a poor one. Also, NGOs have overheads that siphon off so much of the aid. Everything, from the consultants brought in, to the cars used to ferry them around, to the costs incurred by the visit of the head of the INGO to some remote part of Nepal, is factored into the aid that they pledge. In the end, very little ends up going to the people even as INGOs like the Red Cross boast of having spent billions of dollars and built thousands of homes.

First, thank you for that report. I am a journalist in Nepal and I am sure you know that Nepal is going through a situation that is very similar to what Haiti went through. Here too, international aid agencies like the Red Cross and other are extremely pervasive. After the devastating earthquake here, we are trying to rebuild in a way that is transparent, accountable and sustainable. These seem to be the catchphrases for every I/NGO, though they are rarely practiced.

My question is, how do we do what you did? But not five years on. How do we hold to account international agencies like the Red Cross, who are so powerful in poor countries like ours that they can pretty much dictate policy.

Nepal doesn't want to be another Haiti. What would you recommend we do to stay vigilant so that we don't become another Haiti?

But the organisations aren't that trustworthy either. And the problem with bypassing the government is that who takes care of the country in the long run? As a democracy, we can always vote to elect new leaders, who might be better and not so corrupt. But if the people don't have any trust in the state's institutions, how is a country going to function? We'd become a republic of NGOs.

You're right, yes it is exceedingly difficult to elect new leaders who might be better. God knows, we've tried in Nepal. But its more than that now. Its become an ideological thing. We have to believe in the democratic process because we sacrificed so much just to get it. NGOs aren't terrible but they're not good for long term nation-building. The state will always need to fill that role, and if we undermine the state's structures at a time of crisis like this, the damage might be irreparable.

I know this will be a long and arduous process and we will need NGOs, but their roles must be clearly circumscribed and Nepalis should be able to decide what we need most, not NGOs or donors. We are not laboratories for experiment, which is what India, the US, the UK and even European countries have treated us for so long.

I just don't know how exactly to do this, that's up to people cleverer than me.

Could you send me a PM with all the details? Including dates and a timeline of events? Did the Red Cross specifically refuse to provide them with tents? If you give me the details, I can attempt an investigation.