EMPOWER

08 December 2008

The Himalayan Times

This is in reference to the edit page article “Local Governance, Donor tinkering is the menace” (THT, Dec.4, 2008). While reflecting my working experiences with the donor organizations, I must agree with the writer that they still function using the power of the purse rather than designing and implementing the development programmes consistent with the ground reality.

Unless the management and accountability of any rural level projects lies with the local level beneficiaries, the outcome of such projects is bound to be questionable. The concept and application of “user group” in rural level projects have been extremely successful in terms of empowering the local communities and improving management capabilities. Giving the local stakeholders a sense of ownerships and making them accountable directly or indirectly ensures sustainability of projects. When these realities are overlooked, projects are bound to deliver unsatisfactory results. Let us not ignore that “empowerment” is the objective of community development projects.

Rai Biren Bangdel

Maharajgunj, Kathmandu