sustainable development through peace building, … · pakhtunkhwa programme is twofold; on one...

Peace and Development Programme: Quarterly Review Report 2013

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PEACE BUILDING,

GOVERNANCE & ECONOMIC RECOVERY IN KHYBER

PAKHTUNKHWA

Quarterly Progress Report

January -March, 2013


UNDP is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.

Copyright © 2012 United Nations Development Programme Pakistan

Material in this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted, but

acknowledgement is requested.

This publication is available from:

United Nations Development Programme

4th Floor

Serena Business Complex

Islamabad,

Pakistan

http://www.undp.org.pk


Quarterly Review Report

Date: 30 March 2013

Award ID: 00058104

Description: The programme objective is twofold; on the one hand it will support the

sustainable return of IDPs through targeted early recovery activities and on the

other it will contribute towards diffusing and preventing local crisis and gaining

a better understating of the structural causes of crisis through governance and

peace building interventions.

Implementing Partners: UNDP &PaRRSA

Period Covered: January – March 2013


Table of Contents

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................

INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .........................................................................................................................

PROJECT PERFORMANCE......................................................................................................................

OBJECTIVES .....................................................................................................................................................

PROCUREMENT PROCESS .....................................................................................................................

IMPLEMENTTAION OF ACTIVITIES ..................................................................................................................

CHALLENGES AND CONSTRAINTS ..................................................................................................................

FINANCIAL STATUS ..............................................................................................................................

WAY FORWARD ...............................................................................................................................................

CASE STUDIES ..................................................................................................................................................


ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

BoQs Bills of Quantities

CERINA Crisis Early Recovery Needs Assessment

CSOs Civil Society Organizations

CBI Community Based Infrastructure

FATA Federally Administered Tribal Areas

GoP Government of Pakistan

ITB Invitation to Bid

IDPs Internally Displaced Persons

KPK Khyber Pakhtunkhawa

M & E Monitoring and Evaluation

NGO Non-Government Organization

PaRRSA Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority

PCNA Post Crisis Needs Assessment

PHRP Pakistan Humanitarian Response Plan

PRB Programme Review Board

SFD Saudi Fund for Development

UC Union Council

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UN United Nations

USD United States Dollar


Introduction

The aim of the Sustainable Development through Peace Building, Governance and Economic Recovery in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Programme is twofold; on one hand it supports the sustainable return of IDPs through targeted early recovery activities and on the other it contributes towards diffusing and preventing local crisis and gaining a better understanding of the structural causes of crisis through governance and peace building interventions. These objectives are achieved by focusing on interventions organized around four pillars:

Strengthening capacities for early recovery coordination;

Support to sustainable livelihood and local economic recovery;

Peace building and social cohesion; and

Strengthening local governance.

The programme strategy will focus on all the crisis affected population, however in all instances priority will be given to the vulnerable using the following criteria - women headed households (estimated at 72,000 families); families with disabled members; families that have 10 members and an income of Rs. 7,000.

Executive Summary

This report covers the progress achieved during first quarter of the year 2013 and presents lessons learnt and way forward specific to Saudi funding. It is pertinent to mention here that the project has already consumed Japanese and Italian funding. In this regard, UNDP entered into partnership with the Saudi Fund for Development through MoU worth USD 5.397 million signed on July 25, 2011 for the restoration and rehabilitation of damaged community infrastructure schemes in 6 tehsils (Babozai, Charbagh, Kabal, Khwazakhela, Matta Khararai, Matta Sebujni) of District, Swat. Initial agreed portfolio of 953 schemes was reduced to 585 for the reasons 1) either the schemes identified were not technically feasible or 2) some other organizations had already implemented those schemes. Finally, a total 585 schemes were finalized for rehabilitation. The major objective of this partnership is to improve affected communities’ access to basic services and facilities by restoring and rehabilitating community physical infrastructure. The damage to community infrastructure and collapse of the relevant institutions deprived communities’ access to basic services and facilities. Crisis Early Recovery Initial Need Assessment report, Post Crisis Need Assessment report of KPK and FATA and Flood Early Recovery Need Assessment report suggested a two pronged approach (i) community based interventions targeting rural areas; and (ii) interventions through local Government/line departments in urban and rural areas. Full community participation with strong community mobilization is also strongly recommended. The report further highlights the importance of immediate restoration and rehabilitation of community infrastructure that will provide an opportunity for peace building within and among the affected communities. The goal of early recovery programming in community infrastructure is to restore community services, functions and processes, bringing them to normalcy.

To take start for implementation, UNDP initiated the procurement process last year. As a result of this, two construction firms namely Hadaf International and Akhunzada and Fazal Jamil & Co. were contracted to rehabilitate 207 schemes in three tehisls – Charbagh, Baboozai and Kabal. These schemes have been successfully completed and handed over to local communities. It is important to note that UNDP ensured community participation while mobilizing local communities and organizing them into Project Oversight Committees. These completed schemes have benefited over 170,000 people including men, women, youth children and disabled. Orientation of the staff of construction firms was also done at Peshawar. This facilitated a lot in developing common understanding of both the parties to better manage the field work. A team of 6 civil engineers continuously monitored and guided the implementation over a period of 5 months.


While procurement process for rest of the schemes is underway and will be completed shortly. In order to better manage the procurement process and encourage more local construction firms, the remaining 378 schemes were divided into smaller packages. Internal procurement process for packages 5.2 and 5.3 has been completed and results have been shared with the donor for approval. Contract will be awarded to a successful bidder after SFD approval. During the reporting quarter, the project also started working on smooth operational and financial closure by April 18, 2013. In this regard, project review report was prepared and shared with the stakeholders for their feedback. External audit of the project was also completed.

Project Performance

Procurement Process As per contract obligation, UNDP had to engage private construction firms in order to rehabilitate damaged community infrastructure schemes in the 6 tehsils of District, Swat. Before this process, following steps were taken to engage construction firms effectively.

1. To ensure better ownership, a number of ‘orientation meetings’ with different stakeholders including:

Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority (PaRRSA), District Coordination

Officer-Swat, Local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), relevant development partners and the

communities were held at the start. This was followed by a Joint ‘Rapid Needs Assessment’ of the

proposed infrastructure schemes between May 12 to 14, 2011 to assess the ground situation. A ‘Technical

Committee’ comprising of engineers from PaRRSA, local CSOs and UNDP was constituted. This committee

finalized the ‘technical specifications, drawings and bills of quantities (BoQs) formats, ‘selection criteria’

for distinguishing between ‘small CBI and large CBI’ and the ‘Cash for Work Framework’ for the target

Community Based Infrastructures (CBIs) keeping in view the topography, climate and beneficiaries needs.

2. In order to formulate the detailed Bills of Quantities, a detailed ‘Joint Technical Assessment’ along with

PaRRSA, District Government and UNDP, of all 953 infrastructure schemes was conducted between June-

August, 2011. It was observed that only 735 out of 953 sites were feasible, while remaining 218 were

either already being rehabilitated or had very high cost-beneficiary ratio. The detailed BOQs for all

feasible sites were developed from July to August 2011. A total of 585 schemes were prioritized for actual

rehabilitation from among the 735 ‘Feasible Infrastructure Schemes’ such that the cost estimates do not

go beyond the approved Project Budget. This was done in consultation with all relevant stakeholders at all

tiers including PaRRSA, District Government-Swat, respective Line Departments, SFD and the

communities.

3. In order to solicit interest of the private construction firms, Invitation to Bid (ITB) was launched in two

phases by the Procurement Unit of UNDP. This detailed document contained clear guidelines for the firms

to apply for different packages. For ease of managing the procurement process and keeping in view the

implementation capacities of the firms, the entire portfolio of 585 schemes was divided into seven

packages. Detail is given in annexure-A.

4. To further clarify queries of firms, pre-bid conferences were also held and addendum was issued

explaining all the required information accordingly. This was helpful in attracting a large number of

bidders for healthy competition.


5. Criterion for selection was two-staged i.e. technical evaluation followed by financial evaluation. Technical

committees comprising of civil engineers evaluated the bids based on the given criteria in the ITB.

6. During phase-1, following firms were selected.

Description

Tehsil Wise Package No.

Total 1 2 3

Babuzai Charbagh Kabal

No. of Schemes

27 41 139 207

Amount in USD 136,262 182,049 791,352 1,109,663

Contracts Awarded to Firms

M/s Hadaf International

M/s Hadaf International

M/s Akhunzada Fazal Jamil

7. UNDP also launched another ITB for phase-II in November 2012 for packages 4, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3. 5.4, 6.1 and

6.2. Procurement process for packages 5.2 and 5.3 has been completed while for the rest it is underway.

As a result of this, M/S Akhunzada and Fazal Jamil & Co. has been recommended for packages- 5.2 and

5.3. UNDP will sign contract with the selected firm after approval of the SFD. Following is the detail of

these packages.

Implementation of Activities Orientation of Construction Firms Before initiation of ground work, UNDP arranged orientation workshop in September 2011 for staff of the construction firms. This orientation session enhanced implementation capacity of the staff and facilitated clarity of both the parties on terms and conditions of the contractual obligations. UNDP relevant staff was engaged to conduct sessions on the following aspects.

Clarification on the terms and conditions of the contracts

Description

Package No. Total

5.2 5.3

No. of Schemes 61 42 103

Amount in USD 458,827 509,784 968,611

Recommended Firm

M/s Akhunzada Fazal Jamil & Co.

M/s Akhunzada Fazal Jamil & Co.


Reporting and monitoring mechanisms

Visibility aspects of the interventions

Verification and replacement of schemes

Certification of payments to contractors (necessary documentation requirements etc.)

Community involvement and ownership of schemes

Trackers updates etc. Inauguration Ceremony A three member delegation from the Saudi Fund for Development, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, inaugurated a link road in Village Kot, Tehsil Charbagh, Swat on 29 November 2012. They were accompanied by Ms. Rabia Khattak, Assistant Country Director, UNDP-CPRU, Dr. Fakhar -e-Alam, Commissioner Malakand Division, Kamran Rehman Khan, District Coordination Officer (DCO), Swat,and senior representatives from Provincial Disaster Management Authority/Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation & Settlement Authority (PDMA/PaRRSA), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The sites visited included a link road in village Kot and some community infrastructure schemes in village Jamalabad, Tehsil Chrarbagh, District Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Mr. Abdullah Mohammad A Alshoaibi, Chief Technical Engineer, SFD shared his views, “It was a great pleasure to inaugurate the link road and monitor some schemes that are being rehabilitated by the Saudi contribution to the humanitarian response for the crisis affected population in Pakistan. We appreciate UNDP’s effort and cherish our partnership with them for the rehabilitation and development of the marginalized communities of Swat”.

Start of Ground Work – Phase-1 The construction work initiated in September 2012 through two well established engineering firms M/s Hadaf International and M/s Akhunzada Fazal Jamil & Co. for the rehabilitation of 207 schemes (phase-1) amounting US$ 1.109 million is 100% completed (see annexure-B). Completion took one month more from the initial planned timeframe of 31st January 2013 due to harsh weather conditions particularly in hilly terrain.

Tehsil-Wise Number of Schemes Completed as of March 30, 2013

S# Tehsils

Streets

Culverts Drainage Channels Link Roads

Bridges Total

1. Babozai

(Package-1) 17 10 - - - 27

2. Charbagh

(Package-2) 8 21 4 1 7 41

3. Kabal

(Package-3) 98 20 15 1 5 139

Grand Total: 123 51 19 2 12 207

It is important to note that UNDP also extensively engaged local communities by forming Project Oversight Committees which represented their respective villages. A total of 207 such committees were mobilized and their

25

28

33

15 0.21

% of Beneficiaries out of 178,355

Male Female Children Youth Disabled


capacities were strengthened for effective oversight to ensure ownership and long-term benefits of the rehabilitated infrastructure. Union Council-Wise Analysis The following table gives union-council wise analysis of schemes, villages and beneficiaries.

S# Union Council

No. of Villages Covered

No. of Schemes

Beneficiaries Average per Scheme

Beneficiaries

1. Bar Abakhel Kabal 3 8 6,267 783

2. Bara Bandai 5 22 22,330 1,015

3. Charbagh 5 12 11,763 980

4. Dewlai 7 23 12,997 565

5. Gulibagh 7 22 57,076 2,594

6. Kishawara 7 7 6,300 900

7. Koz Abakhel Kabal 8 29 10,904 376

8. Kuza Bandai 4 17 2,333 137

9. kuzabakhel 1 1 107 107

10. Qalagay 5 9 6,215 691

11. Sangota 8 27 33,264 1,232

12. Shah Dehrai 4 16 4,066 254

13. Tall 6 13 4,455 343

14. Totano Bandai 1 1 278 278

Total:

71

207

178,355 862

The above table indicates that interventions were spread out to 71 villages of 14 union councils benefiting over 170,000 poor community people. On an average, 862 persons were directly benefited from rehabilitation of these 207 schemes. It is to be noted that in some of the union councils i-e Gulibagh, Bara Bandai, and Sangota large beneficiary base is due to the implementation of high number of schemes. In union council Tall, schemes were scattered over long distances due to which implementation badly suffered. Re-verification of Schemes Re-verification exercise for the remaining 378 schemes was also undertaken and completed satisfactorily. This was done in due time to take care of any ground level changes for smooth implementation of activities. It is also important to note that verification team also established a meaningful dialogue with the local communities and sought their interest and help in locating the exact sites of schemes. This exercise was quite useful in terms of exact identification of sites; make necessary changes in the BoQs as per site condition and making lists of community activists who would be available at the time of implementation.

Visibility In order to publicize SFD initiative, as per agreed criteria the selected construction firms have also installed sign boards on visible locations at village, tehsil and district level containing UNDP and SFD logos. Apart from this, UNDP also highlighted SFD contribution in meetings with the government, communities and other stakeholders at district as well as provincial and national level. Print and electronic media also gave coverage to the SFD interventions. Apart from this, case stories were also documented while taking views of beneficiaries. These will be further published for wider circulation amongst the relevant stakeholders.


Monitoring and Oversight The UNDP monitoring team and civil engineers regularly monitored the sites. Ongoing monitoring and final verification of the completed schemes were two important components of oversight mechanism. To ensure good quality of construction work cylinder tests were also carried out randomly from different sites with satisfactory results. It is important to note that samples for tests were collected in the presence of UNDP field engineers and Project Oversight Committees. To make the project a success story and develop a sense of ownership for the CBI Schemes, the UNDP monitoring team and consultant engineers were working continuously for community mobilization and as a result, the local communities took keen interest in the implementation of community infrastructure schemes. This is a positive sign which ensures community ownership and sustainability of the rehabilitated infrastructure over a longer period of time.

Key Results Achieved During implementation of interventions, following results have been achieved.

1. Respective communities are taking full ownership of rehabilitated infrastructure. This was due to their

close involvement in the identification, planning, execution, implementation and on-going monitoring of

these interventions.

2. A total of 178,355 including women, disabled, and children are direct beneficiaries of the completed

infrastructure schemes.

3. The impact of interventions is quite visible as the culverts have really proved beneficial in smooth

trafficking and obstruction in the rain water to stop land erosions, streets are benefiting the people giving

neat and clean environment, and link roads have significantly changed the socio-economic conditions of

the local population. For example, in village Kot, recently constructed 33,501 Sq.feet, link road is

benefiting thousands of villagers in easy transportation of construction material and farm produce

through heavy vehicles. Kids are also happy as they have a place to ride their bicycles and play games. The

women and particularly the disabled persons are also feeling comfortable now due to smooth track. The

local people told that with the construction of this link road, land value has also been greatly appreciated

4. Due to use of local construction material such as coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, steel, marble strips and

local labor, a lot of economic opportunities were also created to boost local economy of the area which

was main objective of the programme.

Project Closure Activities During the reporting period, the project team also worked on essential requirements to close the project by April 18, 2013. Following steps were taken for smooth operational and financial closure.

-

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Culvert SmallBridges

Link Roads StreetPavement

DrainageChannels

No. of Schemes Completed by Type out of 207


1. Prepared final project review report covering major millstones achieved, lessons learnt and way forward

along with financial overview

2. Worked on the asset transfer to PaRRSA

3. Closure of field office in Peshawar

4. Separation notices to project staff; and

5. Scheduled final Project Review Board meeting on April 2, 2013

Challenges and Constraints UNDP tried its level best to complete the current phase (207 schemes) of the project within given timeframe but due to some unavoidable circumstances like severe weather conditions (freezing temperature, raining and snowfall) in upper parts of Distract Swat, it was not a feasible option to continue the construction work. Therefore, a one month no cost extension was given to Akhunzada and Fazal Jamil & Co. to complete the entire work by February 28, 2013.

Lessons Learnt During the implementation, following lessons were emerged which will be helpful in fine tuning of the future interventions. Specifically these are;

Rigorous social mobilization is the pivotal part during implementation of community infrastructure

schemes which was totally left to the staff of construction firms and UNDP field engineers. This created

difficulties for the contractor as well as UNDP engineers who were not relatively trained in social

mobilization techniques. Resultantly, they had to spend a lot of time to manage crisis and resist

interference of influential elite. It could have been better if the social mobilization part was managed by

separate staff.

Political influence can be another bottleneck which can emerge during next phase. This can be handled

through well thought strategy by involving a meaningful dialogue with the politicians, government

officials and local communities. UNDP management should also regularly interact with such personalities

and explain purpose and scope of the project interventions clearly telling the impartiality and fairness of

UNDP implemented projects which are based on well defined criteria of implementation.

Despite the efforts to ensure ownership by the community, maintenance of the provided infrastructure

remains a challenge. Orientation/sensitization sessions on repair and maintenance for project oversight

committees at cluster level can be more helpful in ensuring long-term sustainability of the schemes.

Financial Status Following table gives the detail of funds received from SFD and expenditure made till the reporting period.

Total Funds Received ??????

Total Expenditure (as of March 30,2013) ??????

Balance ??????

Way Forward We are pleased to share that UNDP is progressively undertaking the procurement process for the remaining 378 schemes following the standard procedures of procurement. Till date, out of a total of seven cases, two packages (5.2 & 5.3) have been approved, while remaining five are at advance stages of approval. After completion of internal procurement process, UNDP will share results of the technical and financial evaluation with SFD for final approval before award of contracts to successful bidders. The project will retain skeleton staff to look after Saudi interventions till December 31, 2013.


Pictorial Overview

Before After


Before After

Before After

Street Pavement at Village Jola Abad, UC Dewlai, Swat District

Street Pavement at Village Sadiq Abad, UC Dewlai, Swat District


Before After

Case Studies

Drainage Channel, Village Sar Bala UC Totano Bandai, Swat District

Street at Kuz Jumat, Village Awan Kalay, UC Bar Aba Khel, Swat District


Case Study-1 Over the last few years this wave of Talibanization has crossed over from the traditional border in to the more settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa such as Swat, Buner and Malakand. This trend reached its climax in 2009 when the Taliban inspired and allied, Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) took over the Swat Valley and banished all Government functionaries operating there. This led to a large scale military operation, Rah-e-Raast, which flushed out the militants and liberated the Swat Valley. After the military take-over, reconstruction was started in swat. Chor is located in remote hilly terrain of swat. This has long been neglected by the government. The access road from Chor to Shiekhano Pati was in dilapidated condition which was hardly jeep able. People of the area were facing a lot of difficulties because of the bad conditions of the road. Mobility was mostly on foot and that was tough task particularly for women and children who have to fetch water from water source. Traditionally the hilly areas have few drinking water sources mostly served by natural springs. The women folk consider it one of their primary duties to fetch drinking water from these sources for the entire household. Sardar Wali who actively participated in the execution of this project commented, “ The construction of Chor to Shiekhano Pati will not only facilitate travel between neighboring villages but will also help the local businesses and the school going children thus making life easy for everyone”.

UNDP together with the community of village rehabilitated the road and improved the lives of the marginalized and vulnerable. It is estimated that above 2,000 beneficiaries will directly benefit from this intervention. Out of which 900 are females. The decision to pave the street was made in consultation with the community. It was made possible with the generous contribution of the Saudi Fund for Development, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This path serves to connect many small and important villages other than above mentioned two villages. It also connects the market as well as a number of schools in the area. Case Study-2 Village Manger Kot of union council Kishowra, District Swat is amongst the most far flung, remote and impoverished areas of the Swat valley with very little evident infrastructural progress. The village has also been amongst locations that survived the tough years of militancy and the 2010 floods. The local communities of the area survive chiefly either through conventional methods of farming or free lancing laboring services, earning just enough to withstand hunger.

With little infrastructure of poor quality available, it didn’t come as a surprise that the community suffered with issues while traveling to and fro the village. The local pregnant women could not be rushed in time to the local hospitals due to the absence of a proper culvert and thus prolonging their travel time as a roundabout route had to be taken.


Also, farmers would have a difficult time moving their tools, equipments and livestock from their residences to the farms and back. Women also complained of difficulties while fetching water from their sources due to the absence of proper infrastructure and old folks preferred to remain inside the house considering the difficulties they would face traveling on foot. Thus, the community collectively viewed the lack of proper infrastructure as a major problem they had to face and unanimously agreed upon the construction of a culvert making their traveling more convenient. The intervention aims to improve the communities’ access to basic services and facilities. The UNDP in collaborative efforts with the local community of Manger Kot constructed a culvert, which served as a paved bridging linkage for the villagers making traveling a lot less hurdling and easier than before. Such an intervention made possible with the generous contribution of the Saudi Fund has eased the life of 300 household direct beneficiaries. According to Mr Zahir Shah, a disabled tailor by profession and aged 23, “Due to my in born disabilities, I often found it a lot more difficult than the physically fit pedestrians to travel to and from between my residence and my shop. Since the construction of the culvert, traveling has become a lot easier and I safely and comfortably make my way to my shop along with my stitching equipment. I am appreciative of the UNDP for considering such an initiative.” Also, Sadiq, a 9 year old disabled boy, also expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the UNDP and stated, “ Unlike other boys of my age, I have always suffered a great deal while performing simple tasks such as making my way to school. Despite my physical shortcomings, the poor lay out of the infrastructure also posed as an additional hurdle but ever since UNDP’s intervention, I can easily make my way to my school without the need to struggle my way through.” Gul Begam, aged 8 and a polio patient, has agonized at the hands of her illness since her early days of childhood. Gul Begam had long watched the local children of her neighborhood run around and play cheerfully in the adjoining streets effortlessly despite the poor infrastructural condition and hoped for to do the same one day. Gul Begam had been most unfortunate to be carried around all the way to her school by her father and was now growing too old for such means of transportation. With the intervention of the UNDP, what was once an aspiration to Gul Begam has become a reality. With the construction of the culvert, now Gul Begam independently travels to and from and no longer requires the assistance of her father.

Case Study-3 Damghar link road which is located in Union Council Bara Bandia, Tehsil Kabbal, District Swat connects two major villages of Imam Dheri and Ghorijo with a population of 4,913 and 4,494 respectively. The people of the two connecting villages are mostly relatives by blood and have close cultural ties with each other and therefore frequently use this road to participate in social activities for instance, funerals, marriages and other anniversaries. Before the construction of this link road, the communities of both villages faced great difficulty, especially during rainy days while crossing this road and it proved near impossible to travel through it via vehicles. In October 2012, UNDP identified this village for its ‘Community Infrastructure Restoration and Rehabilitation’ project funded by the Saudi Fund for Development, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Through this project, UNDP in coordination with the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is rehabilitating 585 damaged community


infrastructures schemes, including link roads, drainage channels, culverts, bridges and streets in six Tehsils of Swat District. It was after the UNDP intervention that the people of both villages took a great sigh of relief. With the construction of the road people no longer felt hurdled traveling via the link road be it traveling on a rainy day or using a vehicle. Khalid Khan and Momand Khan, two of the highly satisfied beneficiaries while sharing their experience regarding the construction of the road said, “We are highly thankful to the UNDP and Saudi government. The people of this area were in difficult situation while traveling especially during the rainy days. Even days past the rain the road would remain so muddy that vehicles would get stuck and would take ages to get them back on track again. However, now it is no longer the case and we enjoy easy access to both the villages.”

The link road runs through the vastly cultivated fields in between the two villages. Farmers of the area have access to their fields only through this road. Before the construction of the link road the farming community of the area, while expressing their harsh experiences shared that taking agricultural machinery and other agricultural inputs to their fields was not as easy as it is now. They can also take their farm produce to the market easily. Fire wood and live-stock feed which is also produced in these fields was also taken to back by foot owing to the difficultly traveling by vehicles, but now the farmers and their children can use wheel barrows and donkey carts for carriage. Muhammad Zahir Shah, a farmer from Village Imam Dheri shared his opinion with utmost enthusiasm. At the time of interview he was busy in harvesting vegetables, “We are very thankful to UNDP and Saudi government. With the construction of the road the farmers take their fresh vegetables to the market daily and get good prices for the produce.” With the construction of the road, the property prices of the area have also gone up which is another economic benefit for the beneficiaries of the area. Another beneficiary, Rahmat Ali, aged 13 and a student of grade 5 expressed his gratitude and quoted, “ I had for long taken fire wood and dry straw, carrying it upon my head, but now I use a wheel barrow to carry fire wood and feel at a lot of ease than I did before.” Case Study-4 Village Saerai of UC Kishowra, District Swat is amongst the most far flung, remote and impoverished areas of the Swat valley with very little evident infrastructural progress. The village has also being amongst locations that survived the tough years of militancy and the 2010 floods. The local communities of the area survive chiefly either through conventional methods of farming or free lancing laboring services, earning just enough to withstand hunger.

With little infrastructure of poor quality available, it didn’t come as a surprise that the community suffered with issues while traveling to and from the village. The local pregnant women could not be rushed in time to the local hospitals due to the absence of a proper culvert and thus prolonging their travel time.

Also, farmers would have a difficult time moving their tools, equipments and live-stock from their residences to the farms and back. Women also complained of difficulties while fetching water from their sources due to the absence of proper infrastructure and old folks preferred to remain inside the house considering the difficulties they would face traveling by foot. Thus, the community collectively viewed the lack of proper infrastructure as a major problem


they had to face and unanimously agreed upon the construction of a culvert making their traveling more convenient. The intervention aims to improve the communities’ access to basic services and facilities. The UNDP in collaborative efforts with the local community of Searai constructed a culvert, which served as a paved bridging linkage for the villagers making traveling a lot less cumbersome and easier than before. Such an intervention was made possible with the generous contribution of the Saudi Fund and has eased the life of many villagers benefiting a total of 4,125 individuals. Nasir Ali, a local farmer from Village Saerai shared his joy and appreciation regarding the construction of the culvert and quoted, “This is our first step towards development, with the construction of a small culvert Life already appears to be simpler, for trivial tasks such as walking towards my farm seemed to be a difficult one before the construction of the culvert, but this is no longer the case. I wholeheartedly would like to pay my respect and gratitude to the UNDP and the SFD for their efforts.”

Another satisfied beneficiary, Sakina Bibi, a midwife, expressed her gratitude and stated, “Getting pregnant women to the nearest hospital was a troublesome experience owing to the poor conditions of the roads and bridges surrounding the village. With the construction of this culvert, it is now much easier to get maternity cases to the hospitals with no delays in between”. Salma resident of the village had this to say, “Fetching water especially at night was a hazardous task not only because of the darkness but also because of the uneven route to the water source. This led to many accidents in the past. This intervention has made our job very easy and safe”.

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