Glaring flaws have been witnessed in Flood Damages and Needs Assessment (FDNA) survey being led by World Bank (WB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB), revealed an independent research study conducted by a group of civil society organisations.
Authenticity of information, political influence and untrained data collection staff has put question mark on FDNA statistics reliability as there was meager co-ordination among the assessment teams and line departments. The survey conducted by Civil Society Consultation on FDNA organised by Rural Development Policy Institute (RDPI) under the umbrella of Pakistan Debt Cancellation Campaign (PDCC) further revealed.
According to the survey 88 percent of the affected population said that the assessment teams did not come to their areas to assess the damages caused to the housing structures. About 91 percent were of the view that the visiting teams did not inquire about loss of livestock at household level. Nearly 83 percent of the households opined that the assessment teams just stayed at a particular point like village shop etc and collected the information from a few influential persons.
Preliminary findings of the study indicate secrecy and lack of information disclosure on part of World Bank and ADB compounded the issue of authenticity of FDNA. The assessment survey teams were not trained properly. Even the concerned line departments were not aware of the whole process, which was a shock to most of the stakeholders.
The survey revealed that 79 percent of the household responded that the teams did not go to the field area to assess the losses to crops and farms. Two-third of the officials responded that they had not been provided any training, orientation for the FDNA. They expressed their inability in providing a copy of the assessment form, while rest of them said they could provide it at a later stage.
More than half of the officials 52 percent claimed the assessment in their district has been completed, rest said that it was in process. Of the 36 local CSOs interviewed in 9 districts, more than half 56 percent expressed their ignorance about the FDNA.
The concerned civil society group composed of 28 organisations fear a hasty FDNA being undertaken by Pakistan's major lenders will end up in proposing projects and strategies that will benefit their own interests instead of 20 million flood affectees.
The participants demanded of the government to go for a comprehensive damage and need assessment by involving CSOs and affected communities and that the IFI's FDNA and its process must be made public, presented and debated in the Parliament and all Provincial Assemblies. The consultation was aimed at mobilising public opinion over the genuineness and validity of debt cancellation demands.
Speaking on the occasion Shakoor Sindhu Principal Co-ordinator RDPI said Pakistan's existing foreign debt stands at 55 billion dollars, which is projected to increase to 73 billion dollars by 2014. This year Pakistan will be required to pay 2.9 billion dollars in servicing foreign debts - an amount that is three times to Pakistan's health budget and is double of 1.5 billion dollars which USA has committed for this year to Pakistan under much talked about Kerry-Lugar Bill. Abdul Khaliq from PDCC, stressed upon the need to intensify the on-going Debt Cancellation Campaign by forging a border alliance taking along communities and stakeholders.
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