Tsunami engulfs Sri Lankan governance

Abstract

The features of governance during the provision of relief immediately following the 2004 tsunami, the restoration of key services and facilities, and the longer term rebuilding of damaged/destroyed infrastructure, in the Galle District of Sri Lanka, are investigated in this case study. Interview data revealed that recovery attempts were significantly weakened by the lack of collaboration among key players at the central and the district level. In particular, at the district level, interactions among key stakeholders have lacked focus and were ad hoc. We argue that despite the growing recognition of the advantages of the integration of the actions of various state and non-state actors in such governance, government appears to be reluctant to move away from the existing 'command and control mode' of governance. As a result, transaction costs of governance were excessive, and the resources allocated for reconstruction were either misused or left underutilized. Points for practitionersFollowing a major disaster there is enormous goodwill, with willingness to overlook previous divisions and partisan interests. However, this is fragile and easily dissipated. It must be deliberately preserved and built on. Practitioners should seize the opportunity to build collaborative relationships and to reform administrative processes to facilitate the delivery of supplies and services, giving priority according to need. Advice to the political executive must emphasize the urgency and public interest in drawing on all available human, financial and physical resources through collaborative arrangements involving all sources, including the public service at each level of government, business and non-government organizations.

Competency Development of Civil State Apparatus in Term of Human Resource Management

“…The influence of political economy on resource use, institutional inability, lack of a long-term national development strategy, and weak political leadership have distorted the human capital development initiatives and their use [14]. The realization and enhancement of good governance is a major challenge to the medium-to long-term stability and sound economic development of South Asia [15]. Claudia Goldin [16] defined human capital as the stock of skills that the labour force possesses.…”

Natural Disaster Management in the Asia-Pacific

“…Collaboration in disaster management emerged in the US as a corrective alternative to the top-down, command-and-order type of Weberian bureaucracy (Waugh and Streib 2006 ). Once collaboration begins, scholars claim that an effective collaborative process requires mutual trust (Emerson et al 2011 ;Samaratunge et al 2008 ) and shared visions and values (Samaratunge et al 2008 ), as well as effective leadership (Waugh and Streib 2006 ). These are hard to come by, especially in the context of a disaster, as was illustrated by Hurricane Katrina, where coordination among federal agencies and state and local governments was problematic (Leonard and Howitt 2006 ;Mycoff 2007 ;Waugh and Streib 2006 ;Wise 2006 ).…”

“…This is suggested by the fi ndings of Samaratunge et al ( 2008 ): in Sri Lanka, in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, the government, NGOs, international organizations, the business community, and local communities were all engaged in the relief stage, but only the government and NGOs made recovery and rebuilding efforts. This may be because the impact of disasters is most visible to practitioners and researchers immediately after a disaster occurs-namely, during the emergency responseand, in particular, because collaborations are less frequent during recovery and reconstruction than during the emergency response.…”

Governance in Sri Lanka: Lessons from Post-Tsunami Rebuilding

“…With the arrival of foreign aid, political motives intruded and political assertions of control over these new resources inhibited effective relationships and jeopardised outcomes. 57 At the expense of the needs of the survivors, party politics and administrative red tape blocked the smooth functioning of the governance processes, creating tensions and dysfunctional relationships amongst the actors involved in the rebuilding efforts. We agree with Uyangoda that 'unless the affected communities are active participants in the exercise of rebuilding their lives, livelihoods and communities, the rebuilding process is thoroughly undemocratic.…”