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| Sunday, 12 February 2006 |
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New rays of hope from RADA by Aditha Dissanayake Remember these lines by Bob Dylan?
Surely until December 26th 2004, the lyric would have described any country in South Asia, except ours. We have always been, to use the over used cliches, the pearl of the Indian Ocean; the Golden Island called Svarna dvipa untouched by major disasters. Or so we thought. The truth, when it came on "D-Day" was rough and overwhelming. "The sea swallowed everything we had" ("muhudata serama gahan giya") says a middle-aged man in a faded t-shirt and sarong, who, till last December was a fisherman in Unawatuna, Galle, but who had watched helplessly how the gigantic waves tossed his boat over rooftops and trees and tore it to pieces. "I wish I had perished with my boat and my nets". He says with a sigh. "Shhh" cautions his wife, straddling the child she is carrying from one hip to the other. "Things will get better soon". Yes, because the fishing industry is one of the many sectors that are taking steps to return to pre-tsunami conditions with the assistance from the government and locale and international donors. Soon. But, how soon? As soon as possible through RADA.
"RADA has specific targets that vary from sector to sector - for example all Tsunami damaged housing needs to be repaired or replaced by December 31st 2006" assures Saliya Wickramasuriya, Chief Operating Officer of the newly formed agency for reconstructing the nation called the Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA), at 21, Janadhipathi Mawatha, Colombo 1, where formally the TAFFREN office was situated. Does this mean this is TAFFREN in another name? 'No" explains Wickramasuriya. "RADA is something entirely new". Based on the vision of President Mahinda Rajapakse, the main objective of RADA is to manage and accelerate reconstruction and rehabilitation activities in areas affected by natural or man made disasters." As such the RADA mandate is to focus on Reconstruction and Development activities in all parts of the country, functionally replacing all the Tsunami organizations, and overseeing the administration of related projects in various Ministries," says Wickramasuriya. "RADA's mandate will be to take a holistic view of reconstruction and development activities on a geographical basis, and provide the institutional framework to maximize the cost-effectiveness and benefit of the various different programmes" adds Wickramasuriya. In this context, RADA will take over the function of the three tsunami organizations established by the government following the Tsunami on December 26th 2004, as part of its initial response strategy for post Tsunami recovery; the Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN), Task Force for Relief (TAFOR) and Tsunami Housing Reconstruction Unit (THRU). RADA reports directly to the President via the Presidential Secretariat, and will become an Authority with statutory powers after the RADA Act of 2006 is passed in Parliament. In the meantime, to ensure that ongoing activities continue seamlessly, RADA operates through the existing organizational infrastructure of Task Forces, agencies and Ministry projects. At present the amalgamation and consolidation process of agencies and entities coming under RADA is in progress, with the emphasis being on building specific expertise rather than the duplication of existing Government machinery. Action has already been taken to focus and resolve the most urgent needs of the affected communities in the North & East as well as the South due to the Tsunami and the conflict. "We have already started work on the Jaya Lanka Housing Construction Project in five districts, in addition to speeding up reconstructing infrastructure that has been affected by the tsunami" says Wickramasuriya." In this context, a lot of work has been done by all the preceeding agencies and Ministries without much public awareness. Since the preliminary stages of reconstruction were focused on planning, it is now time for RADA to ensure that these plans are implemented. Therefore, RADA has a lot to do in the coming months" he admitted. He is happy though, that RADA has already begun to address existing procedural delays impeding swift project initiation. Issues like an NGO being unable to proceed with reconstruction work due to the lack of electricity are being identified and rectified on a case by case basis with the intention of 'minimizing the wastage of time and resources and maximizing the dollar delivered to us". 'We are not a huge government department. Any issue can be brought to us, even by a telephone call, so that we can unblock any bottlenecks where progress has been slow". Says Wicramasuriya. 'We have a tough year ahead", he agrees. "But we are determined to implement the 'One-stop-concept' through RADA, so that RADA will function as the single necessary Government focal point for all agencies involved in reconstruction and development activities throughout the nation". Let us hope that RADA, thus acting as the coordinator and facilitator between the affected people, the donor community and the Government in providing immediate relief, restoration of essential services and rehabilitation activities will be the silver lining behind the darkest clouds of disaster. No more broken lives? Broken dreams and above all, will everything that's "broken" be mended from now on? The fingers of the nation are crossed. |
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