In the initial stage of DFID-Community Support Programme (CSP), aiming to cover 22 districts, preferably far remote VDCs of mid-west and far west regions of Nepal funded an Irrigation Project at Divyadewalpur VDC of Dadeldhura district. It was a 12 hours walk from the nearest road head. CSP had mandatory requirement for 100% public auditing of community managed projects funded by it.
It was the period of full-fledged armed conflict in Nepal and people used to think many times before visiting new places. Lack of trust, fear of being suspected and risk of torture, abduction were very common especially in remote parts of Nepal. However, CSP had no choice of public auditing. Working in the conflict and for the benefit of conflict affected target groups, having motto of demonstration of conflict and development can go parallel, CSP had to manage anyway to demonstrate transparency in its activities and win the trust of all project stakeholders.
CSP appointed a public auditor who dared to move forward. Passing hurdles of dozens enquiries of Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) cadres in the field and facing their questions continuously for five days he got permission to organize a public auditing gathering in the project site. Risk taken by the public auditor was the extreme - pre-requisite put by the Maoist cadres to allow for this gathering was he will be abducted if the cadres find this gathering detrimental towards public interest!
At last public auditing session conducted in the presence of large stakeholders and Maoist cadres gathering. The process of project familiarisation, updating the project activities, making every rupee expenditure transparent, suggestion collection form stakeholders, seeking answers from the project management committee were the standard procedures followed. At the end of the program, the public auditor got a pleasant shock from cadres, shouting over him that why he did not told them beforehand about such good governance tool!
The public auditor took a long breathe of feeling secured. Community people expressed that they felt the public auditing is not that much "technical" that need outside expert to carry over. They put a question to public auditor that they can carry the public auditing in the future but does CSP recognise it? As public auditor was aware that CSP is willing to transfer that skill to community, he formed three members public auditing committee and provided quick orientation to them.
Then after, CSP felt no need for sending public auditor in that project. Two sessions of public auditing done by the committee is found excellent. However, CSP managed cross verification of the facts during project handing over time at the end. A light of hope arrayed to CSP that community people eager to learn the good practices provided that development people wish to transform the skills.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Public Auditing from Dream to Reality
During the stressful moment of my interview in DFID-Nepal for the position of Head of Finance & Administration, one of the interview panel members opened an interesting but challenging question to me "Do you heard about public auditing?". I mapped my mind for answer with a mixed feeling of interest, anxiety and ambiguity. Fortunately, I had read some of literatures, surfed the web and exercised by my own initiative in community level projects while I worked with Plan International, Nepal. Unfortunately, my experience on public auditing was not up to the substantial level that I excite to share with the panelists. It was hard time to manage the answer with the littlie knowledge and experience on public auditing. Anyway, I keep the hard answer going and gradually the hardness gone in the interview time.
I was lucky enough that I became successful in the above said interview. One of the priority work for familiarization with CSP, I flipped the log frame and found that it 100% of CSP-funded projects have to face public auditing that once shocked and push me in the ocean of challenge. Couple of days I spent on idea mapping that what could be the ideal model of public auditing for CSP, specially with the very limited number of finance staff (still we are two!) and coverage in scattered and geographically difficult project topography (initially, DFID-CSP was supposed to project funding in all 24 districts of mid & far western region of Nepal) to practice public auditing. Next few days dedicated for searching public auditing related matters with the like-minded organizations like CARE Nepal and in the web.
Nearly in the one month, I developed a skeleton for public auditing modality that could be ideal for CSP. Documenting the idea, perpetual polishing and adjustment of framework was the hard time to convince to the colleagues and superiors. Side by side, I was worried about implementation modality because the funded projects database was showing more than 50 projects when my tenure was running hardly in two months. Anyway, my colleagues support and superior's guidance was simply superb and I had a final draft of public auditing literature (customized for working environment of CSP) in my hand. The proposed modality, though quite challenging was just facilitating of public auditing in community by CSP but the ultimate target was transferring the skills to the community to make the public auditing process sustainable.
Project funded district numbers was already reached to 16 when we started public auditing practices in the field. It was ideologically a virgin land and the process was very new to us but we accepted the challenge and started to train local level consultants. Side by side we kept continuing to implement public auditing in the community projects. It was amazing experience to translate the theoretical framework into real life practice. Beginning days, I was bound to demonstrate the process in the field that sometimes led me tired, monotonous and likely to even fed-up. However, the local district level consultant's team grown up gradually and started to take over the responsibilities and CSP's role gradually started shifting towards monitoring of the quality of the public auditing process and reports submitted. Some good news started to come from field that the community people also started replicating the public auditing practices and produced very good examples that they can adopt the process. It was the first sweet returns of our team's hard work.
We in CSP team shared our practices in CSP-East as well where colleagues took lead to replicate the model. Its practice was streamlining, we sensed on the basis of the varieties of the queries we received, poor documentation and reporting led us to train the public auditing facilitators in a uniform way. The number of public auditing was overwhelming but from the monitoring point of view, compiling varieties of information is not easy to manage. The training skeleton was already in practice to train the facilitators; we decided to develop a training resource book to make the concept and practice of public auditing uniform. Writing the training manual, suggestion collection, editing and printing work nearly took six months. At last, a 39 pages training manual was in our hand that placed DFID-CSP as a pioneering organization in the field of public auditing. When CSP team members touch the manual with heartfelt warmth and share the chunk of success with gentle smile, it gives me a deep-laid satisfaction; an inner-seated team player inside me cheers - viola! we did it.
The training manual is in English language, aimed to spread the DFID-CSP public auditing modality with other like-minded development organization. However, the community people had complained that the English manual would not help them much to understand and practice public auditing. Yes, we have dream to spread the public auditing into the community as a good governance development-monitoring tool and thus how we can let the community to be out of the process? So what ? CSP team leader Mr. Moti Thapa suggested to develop a handbook in Nepali language to address this problem. Compilation of the materials, editing and printing work within one and half months was amazing. Yes, we now have 90 pages public auditing handbook in Nepali language.
Distribution of the Nepali handbook was in progress and one day I got a sweet shock. One of the my colleagues form Kathmandu informed me that some I/NGOs are eagerly requesting for public auditing training to their employees as they have studied both our publications. It was great time to me to facilitate the training where 10 renowned organization's senior managers (even of Country Director) actively participated in the training. Development organizations like Save the Children (USA), Winrock International, Plan International, Eco Himal, Helvetas Nepal and many others started public auditing adopting DFID-CSP's public auditing modality. Many of them are requesting to customize the training contents according to their organizational norms and principles.
We know that many things yet to done. What we did is a small part of our vision translated into reality. When the public will appreciate the concept and process of public auditing; its practice will boom as a good-governance development-monitoring tool; recognized by the state, the days will be really memorable and we may proud to claim a true success.
I was lucky enough that I became successful in the above said interview. One of the priority work for familiarization with CSP, I flipped the log frame and found that it 100% of CSP-funded projects have to face public auditing that once shocked and push me in the ocean of challenge. Couple of days I spent on idea mapping that what could be the ideal model of public auditing for CSP, specially with the very limited number of finance staff (still we are two!) and coverage in scattered and geographically difficult project topography (initially, DFID-CSP was supposed to project funding in all 24 districts of mid & far western region of Nepal) to practice public auditing. Next few days dedicated for searching public auditing related matters with the like-minded organizations like CARE Nepal and in the web.
Nearly in the one month, I developed a skeleton for public auditing modality that could be ideal for CSP. Documenting the idea, perpetual polishing and adjustment of framework was the hard time to convince to the colleagues and superiors. Side by side, I was worried about implementation modality because the funded projects database was showing more than 50 projects when my tenure was running hardly in two months. Anyway, my colleagues support and superior's guidance was simply superb and I had a final draft of public auditing literature (customized for working environment of CSP) in my hand. The proposed modality, though quite challenging was just facilitating of public auditing in community by CSP but the ultimate target was transferring the skills to the community to make the public auditing process sustainable.
Project funded district numbers was already reached to 16 when we started public auditing practices in the field. It was ideologically a virgin land and the process was very new to us but we accepted the challenge and started to train local level consultants. Side by side we kept continuing to implement public auditing in the community projects. It was amazing experience to translate the theoretical framework into real life practice. Beginning days, I was bound to demonstrate the process in the field that sometimes led me tired, monotonous and likely to even fed-up. However, the local district level consultant's team grown up gradually and started to take over the responsibilities and CSP's role gradually started shifting towards monitoring of the quality of the public auditing process and reports submitted. Some good news started to come from field that the community people also started replicating the public auditing practices and produced very good examples that they can adopt the process. It was the first sweet returns of our team's hard work.
We in CSP team shared our practices in CSP-East as well where colleagues took lead to replicate the model. Its practice was streamlining, we sensed on the basis of the varieties of the queries we received, poor documentation and reporting led us to train the public auditing facilitators in a uniform way. The number of public auditing was overwhelming but from the monitoring point of view, compiling varieties of information is not easy to manage. The training skeleton was already in practice to train the facilitators; we decided to develop a training resource book to make the concept and practice of public auditing uniform. Writing the training manual, suggestion collection, editing and printing work nearly took six months. At last, a 39 pages training manual was in our hand that placed DFID-CSP as a pioneering organization in the field of public auditing. When CSP team members touch the manual with heartfelt warmth and share the chunk of success with gentle smile, it gives me a deep-laid satisfaction; an inner-seated team player inside me cheers - viola! we did it.
The training manual is in English language, aimed to spread the DFID-CSP public auditing modality with other like-minded development organization. However, the community people had complained that the English manual would not help them much to understand and practice public auditing. Yes, we have dream to spread the public auditing into the community as a good governance development-monitoring tool and thus how we can let the community to be out of the process? So what ? CSP team leader Mr. Moti Thapa suggested to develop a handbook in Nepali language to address this problem. Compilation of the materials, editing and printing work within one and half months was amazing. Yes, we now have 90 pages public auditing handbook in Nepali language.
Distribution of the Nepali handbook was in progress and one day I got a sweet shock. One of the my colleagues form Kathmandu informed me that some I/NGOs are eagerly requesting for public auditing training to their employees as they have studied both our publications. It was great time to me to facilitate the training where 10 renowned organization's senior managers (even of Country Director) actively participated in the training. Development organizations like Save the Children (USA), Winrock International, Plan International, Eco Himal, Helvetas Nepal and many others started public auditing adopting DFID-CSP's public auditing modality. Many of them are requesting to customize the training contents according to their organizational norms and principles.
We know that many things yet to done. What we did is a small part of our vision translated into reality. When the public will appreciate the concept and process of public auditing; its practice will boom as a good-governance development-monitoring tool; recognized by the state, the days will be really memorable and we may proud to claim a true success.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Middile class's pension plan in Nepal.
Social security from the government side in Nepal unlike other developed countries such as old age pension, social insurance, health security is still as far as dream. The middle class people always worry for their secure future.
This unsecured feeling towards future is the main source of social evils like accumulative unproductive private property like land, buildings, gold etc; corruption and so on. If government can assure the future life of citizens at least in the basic needs like livelihood, education, health and employment majority of citizens do not wish to be corrupt and collect more and more private properties exceeding all limits of greed.
There is a handful group in Nepal called neo-elites consisting the service holder groups in government or non-government sector. Government employees have their pension plan as per government structures though not enough for hand to mouth in the old ages. The main worry lies deep inside the non-government sectors employees about setting up their future that mainly includes livelihood, their individual financial freedom, education and employment of their children, health services etc.
Think with empathy of a project staff of non-government sector employees who have 3-5 years job contract in hand and has long unsecured, probably unemployed life!
Maximum saving when you earn is a basic idea but if and only if you can stick into this. Anyway, whatever you can save, most importantly how you turn your hard earned and painfully saved every rupee into your loyal employee is matters. You loose your capacity top work over the years and your accumulated saved money (your group of employees!) will gradually take over your charge letting you to rest. There is direct correlation between these two sides.
So, no need to say wise investment is the key tool for your pension plan with your hard earn and saved money. It depends how moderate risk taker you are shapes your form of investment. In Nepal, opportunities lies to take chance for getting return ranging from 1-20 percent annually.
Have you ever explored the lucrative returns in Nepal? Obviously the risk and return goes together - we can not ignore it. However, total volume of risk can be managed in various way. Some risk are avoidable, some are transferable, some are manageable and with ample analysis and putting efforts many of them are safely acceptable as well.
I am giving some tips for investment that I think wise but do not claim best one. If you are well earning now but only for clearly short period, think over high interest paying fixed deposits, insurance schemes of you and your families, expand creatively paying jobs like consultancy work that is blend of freedom as well as no investment in hardware.
Really interested? Comment on my thoughts and post your comments. Answer assured.
This unsecured feeling towards future is the main source of social evils like accumulative unproductive private property like land, buildings, gold etc; corruption and so on. If government can assure the future life of citizens at least in the basic needs like livelihood, education, health and employment majority of citizens do not wish to be corrupt and collect more and more private properties exceeding all limits of greed.
There is a handful group in Nepal called neo-elites consisting the service holder groups in government or non-government sector. Government employees have their pension plan as per government structures though not enough for hand to mouth in the old ages. The main worry lies deep inside the non-government sectors employees about setting up their future that mainly includes livelihood, their individual financial freedom, education and employment of their children, health services etc.
Think with empathy of a project staff of non-government sector employees who have 3-5 years job contract in hand and has long unsecured, probably unemployed life!
Maximum saving when you earn is a basic idea but if and only if you can stick into this. Anyway, whatever you can save, most importantly how you turn your hard earned and painfully saved every rupee into your loyal employee is matters. You loose your capacity top work over the years and your accumulated saved money (your group of employees!) will gradually take over your charge letting you to rest. There is direct correlation between these two sides.
So, no need to say wise investment is the key tool for your pension plan with your hard earn and saved money. It depends how moderate risk taker you are shapes your form of investment. In Nepal, opportunities lies to take chance for getting return ranging from 1-20 percent annually.
Have you ever explored the lucrative returns in Nepal? Obviously the risk and return goes together - we can not ignore it. However, total volume of risk can be managed in various way. Some risk are avoidable, some are transferable, some are manageable and with ample analysis and putting efforts many of them are safely acceptable as well.
I am giving some tips for investment that I think wise but do not claim best one. If you are well earning now but only for clearly short period, think over high interest paying fixed deposits, insurance schemes of you and your families, expand creatively paying jobs like consultancy work that is blend of freedom as well as no investment in hardware.
Really interested? Comment on my thoughts and post your comments. Answer assured.
Employment can eliminate Nepal's political problem.
Strike, road blockades, protest, lawlessness are being common sorrow of Nepal these days. They are being chronic day by day. Do you mind when you watch the angry mobs on the road? Categorize them, more than 80% are the youngsters and teens that are simply misguided or provoked by the political evils.
Why such attraction is increasing in the mobs?
The answer is simple, lack of employment. No one employed person believes in mobocracy except the exceptions. Such exceptions are also be backed up my the political interest mostly. So, if Nepal Government really wants to safe landing to start developing "New Nepal" which is being dreamt as the heaven's paradise with financial independence, physical and moral development, leaders must start to from scratching; that is creating the employments that can engage everyone. An engaged professional do not get time to think over mobocracy.
It is not so difficult either. The internal resources and donor spilled funds are much more in Nepal. Why not Nepal Government to think on establishing labour intensive giant corporates like carper industry or something like Hetauda Textile Industry or Hetauda Cement Industries?
Think a extreme as a second thought, forget about the all general investment for two years and concentrate on the labour intensive industries where ten lakh employment generation per year can be targeted. In two years, twenty lakh urban unemployed families will be employees. From the rate of in average five dependents per family, one crore will get support for their livelihood. One crore happy Nepalese do not want to engage in protests can streamline the political unrest in the long run.
Does it make sense? Government have to do less. Trust on the qualified management professionals and support for the market creation, obviously on international marketing through making the supportive policies.
That is all to make a positive change in Nepal. Simple and a quite a short cut way!!
Why such attraction is increasing in the mobs?
The answer is simple, lack of employment. No one employed person believes in mobocracy except the exceptions. Such exceptions are also be backed up my the political interest mostly. So, if Nepal Government really wants to safe landing to start developing "New Nepal" which is being dreamt as the heaven's paradise with financial independence, physical and moral development, leaders must start to from scratching; that is creating the employments that can engage everyone. An engaged professional do not get time to think over mobocracy.
It is not so difficult either. The internal resources and donor spilled funds are much more in Nepal. Why not Nepal Government to think on establishing labour intensive giant corporates like carper industry or something like Hetauda Textile Industry or Hetauda Cement Industries?
Think a extreme as a second thought, forget about the all general investment for two years and concentrate on the labour intensive industries where ten lakh employment generation per year can be targeted. In two years, twenty lakh urban unemployed families will be employees. From the rate of in average five dependents per family, one crore will get support for their livelihood. One crore happy Nepalese do not want to engage in protests can streamline the political unrest in the long run.
Does it make sense? Government have to do less. Trust on the qualified management professionals and support for the market creation, obviously on international marketing through making the supportive policies.
That is all to make a positive change in Nepal. Simple and a quite a short cut way!!
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