Development -- in the context of the utilisation of people’s taxes -- is a form of public investment if nested into a community-driven development (CDD) approach.
DEVELOPMENT
Development -- in the context of the utilisation of people’s taxes -- is a form of public investment if nested into a community-driven development (CDD) approach.
The CDD approach seeks to make local communities as owners of the resources, planning, implementation and evaluation. It is believed that through the CDD approach, communities are made to feel they are the ultimate drivers of development interventions and that their decisions will lead to the desired outcomes once intentional interventions move into action.
In the democratic sphere, the government’s initiatives are always subject to harsh criticism from society. After the devastating floods of 2022 in Sindh, the province was disrupted by the loss of public infrastructure, diminished livelihood sources and, most critically, the partial or complete destruction of houses of those who were badly hit by the harsh rains and flood waters. According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of Sindh, the floods 2022 affected over 1.2 million people and 2.1 million houses, and thousands of schools and health facilities.
The government of Sindh (GoS) initiated a dedicated organisation called Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF), a fully modern, tech-based system entity devoted to initially identifying damaged houses in the province and adding them to the housing initiative. This initiative appeared as the ‘world’s largest housing program’.
Currently, the Sindh government is providing 2.1 million houses to those affected by the devastating floods of 2022 through the SPHF, under the ‘Sindh Flood Emergency Housing Reconstruction Project’ (SFEHRP). This project received worldwide appreciation and partnership. Each beneficiary is receiving 0.3 million in four stage-wise instalments (Rs75,000, Rs100,000, Rs100,000 and then Rs25,000) in his/her bank account to rebuild flood-resilient houses.
The most attractive part of this initiative has been an owner-driven programme (which can be viewed through the lens of the CDD approach). The beneficiaries get their houses rebuilt under a community-driven development approach. For instance, this programme is currently being implemented in 24 districts of Sindh through different implementing partners (IPs) with extensive community development experience and expertise, such as Sindh Rural Support Organisation (SRSO), HANDS, SAFCO, TRDP and National Rural Support Programme (NRSP).
IPs’ responsibility has been to reverify the damaged houses, provide social and technical support, and implement the programme in their designated districts. The NRSP is responsible for the Matiari, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Tando Allahyar, Tando Mohammad Khan, Badin and Sujawal districts.
What would be a better move by the government than inclusive, prosperous, sustainable development through a well-approached community- driven development?
In the community-driven development approach at the SPHF, a village reconstruction committee (VRC) is created unanimously in each village, comprising at least three male and two female members from the village, and is headed by a VRC president/manager. The VRC is trained by the IPs on the ground regarding the roles and responsibilities of the VRC members. The VRC members support the reconstruction of the houses in the village and help them purchase construction materials, ensuring that the masons comply with the requirements for constructing resilient houses as per the designated construction guidelines.
The monitoring and evaluation of the houses are also done by the VRC members. The IPs coordinate with beneficiaries through VRC members. The grievances and experiences are shared with the IPs on a time-to-time basis, which they then move to SPHF for further action.
The IPs’ expertise in the CDD context is quite helpful to the government in implementing programs and projects effectively. These IPs have skilled human resources, segregated into teams for social mobilisation, monitoring & evaluation, disaster risk reduction, research, grievance redress mechanism, engineering, computing and communication & advocacy.
However, the SPHF’s SFEHRP project suggests that inclusive programmes and projects can be implemented with a satisfactory ratio in Pakistan. The government needs to be crystal clear while designing policy programmes for people. The CDD approach would be playing a solution-oriented strategy, as proved by SPHF GoS. If the government is really willing to resolve people’s problems, it needs to revisit its development strategy.
In addition, before initiating any development programme in Pakistan -- whether at the provincial or federal level -- a thorough assessment and evaluation of beneficiaries must be conducted, using internationally tested empirical models and frameworks. Baseline studies should provide a clear, evidence-based rationale for these programmes, rather than being driven by political interests or institutional obligations.
At the same time, a technology-enabled system for addressing public grievances -- equipped with state-of-the-art mechanisms -- should operate in parallel. A robust monitoring and evaluation framework must serve as the backbone of all development initiatives, while communication and advocacy efforts should be designed to project a credible image to the international community, reflecting genuine transformation and a journey from vulnerability to resilience.
One rightly wonders whether governments’ vision and pace of work are matched by society’s or any other entity's, as only governments can bring change to society and people’s behaviour. Then what would be a better move by the government than inclusive, prosperous, sustainable development through a well-approached community-driven development?
The writer is an expert in public policy analysis and sustainable development.He can be reached at: [email protected]
