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| Earthquake survivors left stranded in Nepal as red tape stops aid flowing Earthquake survivors left stranded in Nepal as red tape stops aid flowing | |
| (3 months later) | |
| Donors drummed up billions of dollars for Nepal after the devastating earthquake on 25 April 2015, but the trickle of money to the affected population has been excruciatingly slow. | Donors drummed up billions of dollars for Nepal after the devastating earthquake on 25 April 2015, but the trickle of money to the affected population has been excruciatingly slow. |
| Despite pledges of $3bn, few of the 3.5 million Nepalese needing assistance have received more than initial handouts that are not even enough to clear the rubble. | Despite pledges of $3bn, few of the 3.5 million Nepalese needing assistance have received more than initial handouts that are not even enough to clear the rubble. |
| Across the Himalayan country, where the quake destroyed about 600,000 houses, 34,000 classrooms and killed close to 9,000 people, many Nepalese still live in shacks of corrugated iron next to mounds of mud and stone, formerly their homes. | Across the Himalayan country, where the quake destroyed about 600,000 houses, 34,000 classrooms and killed close to 9,000 people, many Nepalese still live in shacks of corrugated iron next to mounds of mud and stone, formerly their homes. |
| To get here, aid money has to move through a thicket of political bickering and bureaucratic hitches. A controversial constitution triggered protests in the south, a four-month blockade of the border with India – Nepal’s main trading partner, and led to a new government in October. | To get here, aid money has to move through a thicket of political bickering and bureaucratic hitches. A controversial constitution triggered protests in the south, a four-month blockade of the border with India – Nepal’s main trading partner, and led to a new government in October. |
| In the midst of this storm came the nomination of the head of the national reconstruction authority (NRA), a prerequisite for beginning to assess victims’ needs, but which was delayed until December, eight months after the quake, and well into the winter. | In the midst of this storm came the nomination of the head of the national reconstruction authority (NRA), a prerequisite for beginning to assess victims’ needs, but which was delayed until December, eight months after the quake, and well into the winter. |
| “It is basically due to political haggling that [reconstruction] hasn’t been done faster,” the head of the EU’s delegation to Nepal, Rensje Teerink, told reporters in Kathmandu this month. | “It is basically due to political haggling that [reconstruction] hasn’t been done faster,” the head of the EU’s delegation to Nepal, Rensje Teerink, told reporters in Kathmandu this month. |
| However, Teerink admitted that international donors could have prepared better for a disaster that was widely expected. Despite giving €80m (£63m) in humanitarian aid to Nepal since 2001, “here at the delegation, we were not really well prepared,” she said. “When the disaster happened, it became clear that so much more had to be done.” | However, Teerink admitted that international donors could have prepared better for a disaster that was widely expected. Despite giving €80m (£63m) in humanitarian aid to Nepal since 2001, “here at the delegation, we were not really well prepared,” she said. “When the disaster happened, it became clear that so much more had to be done.” |
| Shortly after the earthquake, aid agencies distributed survival items, including rice, clothes and iron sheets for cover. However, not until this month did the Nepalese government dole out the first instalment, to about 600 families in Dolakha district, of 50,000 (£330) of a promised 200,000 rupees for reconstruction. | Shortly after the earthquake, aid agencies distributed survival items, including rice, clothes and iron sheets for cover. However, not until this month did the Nepalese government dole out the first instalment, to about 600 families in Dolakha district, of 50,000 (£330) of a promised 200,000 rupees for reconstruction. |
| A total of 100,000 families will be eligible for the support, but even if a family is selected, the money falls short of the actual cost of building a house. | A total of 100,000 families will be eligible for the support, but even if a family is selected, the money falls short of the actual cost of building a house. |
| “It’s a joke to think we can build a house with 200,000 rupees,” said Phattalal Shrestha from Tamche in Sindhupalchowk, the hardest-hit district, where 95% of houses, according to local authorities, are uninhabitable. He said a house costs at least three times that. | “It’s a joke to think we can build a house with 200,000 rupees,” said Phattalal Shrestha from Tamche in Sindhupalchowk, the hardest-hit district, where 95% of houses, according to local authorities, are uninhabitable. He said a house costs at least three times that. |
| To get the remaining 150,000 rupees, families have to start constructing a house, following a seven-step building code. While meant to ensure new houses are earthquake resistant, the regulations, drawn up with advice from foreign donors, are difficult and costly to adhere to. | To get the remaining 150,000 rupees, families have to start constructing a house, following a seven-step building code. While meant to ensure new houses are earthquake resistant, the regulations, drawn up with advice from foreign donors, are difficult and costly to adhere to. |
| Having waited a year, most villagers the Guardian spoke to had given up hope of ever seeing any aid. | Having waited a year, most villagers the Guardian spoke to had given up hope of ever seeing any aid. |
| In Badari, one of the few villages reached by international agencies, 52-year-old Debi Sapkota, who has four children, said she heard on the radio that the government would deliver aid. “But I’m not at all confident they will,” she said. | In Badari, one of the few villages reached by international agencies, 52-year-old Debi Sapkota, who has four children, said she heard on the radio that the government would deliver aid. “But I’m not at all confident they will,” she said. |
| Although families here had been given temporary shelters by the NGO Christian Aid, her friend, Ganga Sapkota, 47, said: “After the earthquake, we still don’t sleep well.” | Although families here had been given temporary shelters by the NGO Christian Aid, her friend, Ganga Sapkota, 47, said: “After the earthquake, we still don’t sleep well.” |
| With monsoon season approaching, some have lost patience and have begun rebuilding their houses, plunging themselves into debt. By flouting the government’s building regulations, the builder is disqualified from receiving reconstruction aid. | With monsoon season approaching, some have lost patience and have begun rebuilding their houses, plunging themselves into debt. By flouting the government’s building regulations, the builder is disqualified from receiving reconstruction aid. |
| Gajendra Giri didn’t care. The 46-year-old villager from Sindhupalchowk said he had used his social connections as a shopkeeper to borrow money. The government grant would not even be enough to build one room, he said. | Gajendra Giri didn’t care. The 46-year-old villager from Sindhupalchowk said he had used his social connections as a shopkeeper to borrow money. The government grant would not even be enough to build one room, he said. |
| “I spent 60,000 rupees just to buy sand to make cement,” he said. | “I spent 60,000 rupees just to buy sand to make cement,” he said. |
| Prices for construction materials, and fuel to transport them, skyrocketed last year when protesters in the south blocked the border crossings in protest against what they saw as a discriminatory new constitution, wreaking more economic damage than the earthquake, according to Nepalese authorities. | Prices for construction materials, and fuel to transport them, skyrocketed last year when protesters in the south blocked the border crossings in protest against what they saw as a discriminatory new constitution, wreaking more economic damage than the earthquake, according to Nepalese authorities. |
| If aid doesn’t come soon, it will severely impact rural areas that already suffer from lack of investment and development, according to Chandan Sapkota, an economist formerly with the Asian Development Bank. | If aid doesn’t come soon, it will severely impact rural areas that already suffer from lack of investment and development, according to Chandan Sapkota, an economist formerly with the Asian Development Bank. |
| “The slower the reconstruction, the harder it will be for the economy to get back to normal,” he said. “If reconstruction doesn’t happen soon, and local economic activities don’t pick up, then the only option is to either migrate to cities for temporary work or to foreign employment destinations.” | “The slower the reconstruction, the harder it will be for the economy to get back to normal,” he said. “If reconstruction doesn’t happen soon, and local economic activities don’t pick up, then the only option is to either migrate to cities for temporary work or to foreign employment destinations.” |
| Compounding public discontent is mistrust of international charities. A widely shared article in a local newspaper, Himal Khabar, claimed that only about 30% of international aid reaches beneficiaries, while 40% disappears into administration costs such as consultant fees, salaries and logistics. | Compounding public discontent is mistrust of international charities. A widely shared article in a local newspaper, Himal Khabar, claimed that only about 30% of international aid reaches beneficiaries, while 40% disappears into administration costs such as consultant fees, salaries and logistics. |
| However, three of the criticised NGOs – the World Food Programme, Save the Children and Handicap International – all said the criticism was baseless and founded on flawed calculations. | However, three of the criticised NGOs – the World Food Programme, Save the Children and Handicap International – all said the criticism was baseless and founded on flawed calculations. |
| Sarah Blin, country director for Handicap International, said that, according to national government rules, NGOs have to limit operational costs to 20%. When they get dispensation to exceed that, it is to pay salaries for professionals, such as physiotherapists – rather than “simply hand over crutches and wheelchairs” – or to lease helicopters to bring aid to inaccessible areas, she said. | Sarah Blin, country director for Handicap International, said that, according to national government rules, NGOs have to limit operational costs to 20%. When they get dispensation to exceed that, it is to pay salaries for professionals, such as physiotherapists – rather than “simply hand over crutches and wheelchairs” – or to lease helicopters to bring aid to inaccessible areas, she said. |
| In fact, said Blin, who is also vice-chair for the Association of International NGOs in Nepal, it is the Nepalese government that tends to drive costs up. Six weeks after the quake, the ministry of finance demanded that international NGOs pay a 43% tax on corrugated iron sheeting for shelters, arguing that the emergency was over and normal procedures would apply. | In fact, said Blin, who is also vice-chair for the Association of International NGOs in Nepal, it is the Nepalese government that tends to drive costs up. Six weeks after the quake, the ministry of finance demanded that international NGOs pay a 43% tax on corrugated iron sheeting for shelters, arguing that the emergency was over and normal procedures would apply. |
| “This meant that 43% less of our budget could be delivered to beneficiaries and had to be paid to government coffers. This is not in line with standard practices when international help is called for,” Blin said. | “This meant that 43% less of our budget could be delivered to beneficiaries and had to be paid to government coffers. This is not in line with standard practices when international help is called for,” Blin said. |
| When the money finally makes it to the communities, corruption watchdogs warn that local officials might siphon off even more money before it reaches affected families. | When the money finally makes it to the communities, corruption watchdogs warn that local officials might siphon off even more money before it reaches affected families. |
| Ashish Thapa, executive director of Transparency International in Nepal, said people in rural areas, often illiterate, are vulnerable to exploitation. | Ashish Thapa, executive director of Transparency International in Nepal, said people in rural areas, often illiterate, are vulnerable to exploitation. |
| “If an official tells them he has deducted a bit for fees, they won’t know if it’s corruption or not,” said Thapa. “Corruption is a general syndrome in Nepal, and it will seep into relief work as well. We shouldn’t expect too much money to reach beneficiaries.” | “If an official tells them he has deducted a bit for fees, they won’t know if it’s corruption or not,” said Thapa. “Corruption is a general syndrome in Nepal, and it will seep into relief work as well. We shouldn’t expect too much money to reach beneficiaries.” |
| • This article was amended on 29 April 2016. An earlier version used the word “flaunting” where “flouting” was meant. | • This article was amended on 29 April 2016. An earlier version used the word “flaunting” where “flouting” was meant. |