Swiss media highlighted mismanagement of the state run development institutions during the tsunami period in Sri Lanka
Mr.Max Seelhofer, who served as Chief Delegate of the Swiss Red Cross in Sri Lanka between 2005 says between December 2006 and April 2007, some important Swiss media reported about the mismanagement of the state run Swiss Development Agency (SDC), the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) and the Swiss Interchurch Aid (HEKS) and in particular four rather long articles in the Zurich based weekly publication “Weltwoche” (World Week) in July and August 2007 have provoked significant response from many sides.
Sending his comments by an e-mail Mr.Seelhofer said on 28 August 2007, its chairman (Dr. Hansruedi Stadler) declared publicly (and this was widespread nationwide through the major Swiss media) that the Control Committee of the second chamber of the Swiss Parliament (Council of States, equivalent to the US Senate) would install a Sub-Committee whose task is to review and to investigate into the business practices of the state run Swiss Development Agency (SDC) in Sri Lanka, related to two of its programmes such as the reconstruction/rehabilitation of schools in the Matara District and SDC’s participation, in a “Consortium” together with the Swiss Red Cross, the Swiss Interchurch Aid and the Swiss Solidarity Chain (Charity Fund Raising Foundation of the public Swiss radio and TV-Stations), in the Government of Sri Lanka driven und World Bank funded “Cash for Repair and Reconstruction” (CfRR) Programme (reconstruction and repair of dwellings outside the Buffer Zones).
Dr. Stadler explicitly mentioned that the decision of the Control Committee was based on the documents they had received from Mr. Max Seelhofer, former Chief-Delegate of the Swiss Red Cross in Sri Lanka.
The Control Committee was due make public the preliminary results of its investigation on beginning of this month and the Report would be endorsed and possibly debated by both chambers of the Swiss Parliament in its November/December 2007 sessions.
“If necessary, the Parliament will take concrete measures to improve SDC’s performance in the future,” he said.
It has to be mentioned that after more than two and half years (i.e. by April 2007), the overall progress of then ten schools (eight in the Matara Disttrict and two in the Jaffna District) is approximately 9%. In the meantime the two largest school projects have been given back to the Government of Sri Lanka, which managed to convince the UNICEF to fund and implement them. Source: the pertinent publications of the Reconstruction and Development Agency [RADA Sri Lanka].
The SDC and its allies of the Consortium are ceaselessly quoting (with two words only) a so called independent or neutral evaluation as being the final proves of the good quality of their involvement in the CfRR-Programm. But this same evaluation (“Swiss Consortium Cash for Repair and Reconstruction Project Evaluation Report”; authors: Y. Aysan, M. Aheeyar, P. Harvey S. Satchithanadam), when read carefully, comes to a complete opposite result.
“Serious concerns and drawbacks in its implementation and areas where more could perhaps have been done to add to its impact” just to quote the upshot of the many disastrous findings.”
“Please note that in my allegations against the above mentioned Swiss actors, I am not talking about corruption, neither about the alleged luxury houses of expatriate staff members nor their alleged posh land cruisers, nor definitely not about supposed criminal offences (felony) such as embezzlement of funds or fraudulent conversion of funds. In other words, I am talking about mismanagement of the Swiss Headquarters of the above mentioned Swiss organizations (there are no indication of unjustified personal enrichment) , he said.
The performance of the above mentioned Swiss organizations in Sri Lanka since January 2005 up to now is a shame, the way they are trying to blandish a home-made debacle is a scandal. They have not only failed in accomplishing their promises vis à vis the Government of Sri Lanka and the pertinent local political authorities, but last but not least vis à vis the Swiss public (the donors) and, above all, the surviving victims of the Tsunami of 26 December 2004.
Sunil C. Perea, Colombo 26. November
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