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Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Talk back: That Dutch-funded project
Jose R. Gapas
President, Soil and Water Conservation Foundation, Inc.
Now that it is out (Sun.Star Cebu, front page, Aug. 19, 2006), the University of San Carlos-Water Resources Center (USC-WRC) and the offices of the Cebu City mayor and governor owe it to us, Cebuanos, to give the full details of what really happened with the Water Remind Project.
It is a basic responsibility in public spending and governance.
Reports say that the project’s funding was P185 million, that P63 million went to USC-WRC, that P70 million went to the Dutch consultants, that P50 million will got to the Metro Cebu Water District and that the project has been discontinued.
I understand a component of the project was a study tour of some local officials to some European countries to observe the protection and sustainable management of the watersheds and water distribution there.
Why did the project fail a mid-term evaluation by a United Nations Evaluation Team?
Finger-pointing
The mayor said the Water Remind Project does not account the funds properly.
Fr. Hernan Van Engelen of WRC says that the mayor “wanted to be the boss but the Dutch Government would not agree.”
The project director, Fe Walag, said it failed because the mayor and the governor withdrew their support.
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said she was “told by the (Dutch) ambassador himself, and it has nothing to do with the non-participation of the governor and mayor” and then insinuates there are questionable transactions in the project.
What is the truth?
Water Remind Project was intended to benefit us, Cebuanos. It failed. Surely, we are entitled to know the truth.
Why are we deprived of the expected benefits from the project? The mistakes made, if any, should be useful learning experience if we know them.
Foreign consultants
The problem with this baffling water problem in Cebu is that we are limited to a paradigm or pattern of thought that in order to solve a problem studies should be done and designs and plans should be made by very expensive foreign consultants.
We seem to believe that we, the natives, do not have the brain and the capacity to conceptualize, design and formulate a plan and implement a program to solve our local water problem.
In the last forty years, American, Japanese, Canadian and Dutch consultants have been employed and received hundreds of millions of pesos in compensation for studies, designs and plans on the same topic.
Their outputs: beautifully bound reports gathering dust in the offices and libraries of MCWD, USC-WRC, other universities, Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Water and other non-government organizations (NGOs).
Results in added water to our rivers, aquifers, water catchments? Nothing!
The effect of these consultants’ efforts to our water needs? Forty years time wasted. And our beloved Cebu continues to dry up and it is accelerating.
As an ecosystem, it is dying because of the diminishing and inadequate quantity of water to sustain itself.
Dutch-funded effort
The latest Dutch-funded effort? Result: failure!
Its recommendation: construction of several very high concrete dams and several water holding areas that entail relocation of some upland communities.
Its time frame: fifteen years at an approximate cost of P17 billion. Are we going to have another “huge utang” to be paid by our great grandchildren and us?
And this costly project does not guarantee the return of water in our dry rivers, or the raising of the water table in our aquifers or the reversal of the steady landward intrusion of seawater.
Yet, we can solve this vexing water problem if only we look inward rather outward.
We can solve this problem if we identify, allow and assist those among us who have the knowledge, skills and capabilities to lead and use their expertise and experience to achieve our common goal.
There is a concept and design to do it. There is a technology to solve it. We are capable of implementing it and it can be funded locally. It can be built into the program.
All we need is a united and committed effort to do it.
In sum, we have the Cebuano ingenuity and local resources to stop and reverse the drying up of Cebu and save it from dying as an ecosystem.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 23, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
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