After a long delay, on Tuesday the federal government and Fata secretariat jointly presented a roadmap for the resettlement of temporarily-displaced persons (TDPs). Called Sustainable Return & Rehabilitation Strategy for Fata (FSRRS), the framework aims to help over three hundred thousand families from North Waziristan and Bara tehsil rebuild their lives from scratch. The strategy is a good first step towards that end.
The government has acknowledged its shortcomings in managing the large-scale displacement in the aftermath of ongoing Zarb-e-Azb military operation. The FSRRS therefore recommends a large-scale return operation to ensure that the areas that are affected would once again become habitable, which in turn depends on decent living conditions.
The strategy proposes a two-year period for the rehabilitation, covering all seven Fata agencies and six frontier regions. The return will be completed in phases; the first phase has begun already and last phase is to be completed by December 2016. The reconstruction phase is also in process alongside the rehabilitation and will continue for few years.
The most important issue related to the TDPs’ return is the housing situation. During the military operation, the Fata secretariat notes, an estimated 66,989 houses were completely damaged and 38,754 houses were partially damaged. The secretariat has proposed an estimated budget of Rs32 billion or $320 million for housing reconstruction alone. The initial proposed budget is Rs30 billion or $301.6 million.
It’s not housing alone that needs attention. The government’s Rehabilitation Strategy has five main points: 1) rehabilitating physical infrastructure, 2) strengthening law and order, 3) expanding government service delivery, 4) reactivating and strengthening the economy, and 5) strengthening social cohesion and peace building. The current budget for the rehabilitation process is $120 million. But, for the whole process, Fata secretariat will need $800 million.
The government has rightly acknowledged the fact that the process of rehabilitation must accompany the reform process. The Fata Reform Commission (FRC) has been asked to advise the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor to improve the governance and living conditions in Fata. It remains to be seen, however, how much interest Fata reforms garner this time around.
Accountability should be the mainstay of this multimillion dollar program. It is important to have a right management structure, funding mechanism and monitoring and evaluation tools. Management structure is a top-down approach to this process where the steering committee will be on the top and government line departments, private sector, UN agencies and civil society will be in the bottom. The Fata secretariat and rehabilitation and reconstruction unit will be working as middle-management.
As for funding mechanism, there are three possible models can be employed, as per the strategy document. Model 1 deals with government-to-government support where the donor will provide funds directly to the Fata secretariat. The Model 2 is pool-funding through UNDP where the donor will partner with UNDP, and UNDP will channel the funds through Fata secretariat and other UN agencies. Model 3 would be direct donor support with government-led decision-making and monitoring.
It seems that the last two models are better suited in the local context, where government oversight mechanisms have been found lacking. The whole process will be monitored and evaluated by a Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (RRU), which will publish reports and evaluate the process for the stakeholders as well.
The rehabilitation process on this scale is indeed a herculean task for any government. But it has to be done. The federal government has taken its sweet time to come up with the Return & Rehabilitation Strategy. Now to make the execution process effective, they need proper reforms system in place and a strategy for curbing corruption. The people of FATA have been very patient. It’s time to return the favour.
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