Cablegate: Sri Lankan Post-Tsunami Reconstruction Update

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000583

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EB A/S ANTHONY WAYNE FROM AMBASSADOR LUNSTEAD;
SA/INS FOR J.BRENNIG/N.DEAN; PLEASE PASS TO TSUNAMI
RECONSTRUCTION TASK FORCE; TREASURY FOR C.CARNES

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKAN POST-TSUNAMI RECONSTRUCTION UPDATE
(MARCH 23, 2005)

REF: A. COLOMBO 557
B. COLOMBO 558

This cable is for use in the Asian Tsunami IAWG on March
23, 2005.

1. (SBU) Summary: In Sri Lanka, post-disaster relief and
reconstruction efforts, many of which were unavoidably
developed and implemented on an ad hoc basis, appear to
be evolving into a more structured, longer-term
implementation phase. There are three main organizations
currently spearheading the relief and rehabilitation
efforts: the Task Force for Relief, the Transitional
Accommodation Project and the Task Force for Rebuilding
the Nation. How well these organizations coordinate with
each other, with local officials and with donors will be
crucial to the success of the reconstruction effort.
President Kumaratunga has been briefed on concerns with
the relief and reconstruction process by the Ambassador,
and by representatives from the NGO community. Former
Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles expressed both
concern over the amount of work still to be done, but
admiration for the efforts already made, during a March
21-22 visit on behalf of former-President Clinton with
the UN. Transitional shelter issues remain challenging,
but appear to be working more smoothly. While we can see
some problems looming in the distance (the current duty-
free entry period for relief and reconstruction items
ends April 26), the generally positive reception our
concerns have received over the past week leaves us
hopeful that that the GSL tsunami recovery effort is
rounding into shape. End Summary

Programs! Can't Tell the Players Without a Program
--------------------------------------------- -----
2. (U) We thought it would be helpful to do a quick
review of which Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) groups have
what role in the post-tsunami structure.

3. (SBU) The Task Force for Relief (TAFOR) is headed by
Tilak Ranaviraja, a career public servant who wears
several hats, including Secretary of Public Security, Law
and Order; Commissioner General of Essential Services;
and Chairman of the Central Environmental Authority (Sri
Lanka's rough equivalent of EPA) - portfolios he
maintains responsibility for in addition to his role in
tsunami relief. Ranaviraja is an effective public

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servant and long-time Embassy contact. He served for six
years as DCM at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington.

4. (U) Transitional Accommodation Project (TAP) is a sub-
group of TAFOR, also headed by Ranaviraja. This group
focuses exclusively on the transitional housing
situation.

5. (SBU) Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN) is
focused on the permanent reconstruction phase of the
Government's efforts. Presidential Advisor, and
Strategic Enterprise Management Agency CEO, Mano
Tittawella (another close Embassy contact) is the Chair.
The Task Force has several high-profile private sector
representatives each of whom heads a specific sector
group. Former John Keels (a major Sri Lankan
conglomerate) Chairman Ken Balendra, now retired, has
been the most active TAFREN private sector member,
serving nominally as the Deputy Chairman and focusing on
road and bridges.

6. (SBU) Coordination among these groups has been
inconsistent, oftentimes taking place as a result of our
engaging the two groups on specific overlapping issues.
Nonetheless, as each entity has becomes more familiar
with its portfolio, processes have begun to improve. Both
Ranaviraja and Tittawella are close to President
Kumaratunga, but neither has a political base of his own
or the authority needed to direct various line
ministries.

Ambassador's Meeting with President
-----------------------------------
7. (SBU) Ambassador met with President Kumaratunga last
week to review Tsunami relief and reconstruction
activities (Refs A and B). Kumaratunga thought the
relief and rehabilitation effort was going well, but
accepted Ambassador's concerns regarding overall process
problems and agreed to look into them. She remained
adamant about the 100m/200m coastal exclusion zones, but
promised to consider appointing a ministerial level
"tsunami czar" to help quickly resolve issues that arise.

Transitional Shelter
--------------------
8. (U) The transitional shelter program has picked up
some momentum, with the Task Force for Relief (TAFOR) and
the Transitional Accommodation Project (TAP) announcing
goals to complete 10,000 transitional shelter units by
April 1. During a March 18 meeting with TAFOR and TAP
Chief Ranaviraja and shelter-related NGOs, several
positive initiatives were launched:

--UNHCR has provided an assistant for Ranaviraja who is
knowledgeable about transitional housing issues.

--TAP will be posting its own website with information
related to transitional housing needs and NGO efforts.

--The GSL is issuing specifications for tents in order to
avoid additional import and further use of sub-standard
products.

--Ranaviraja has requested that 25 percent of the land
approved for permanent housing resettlement be made
available for temporary shelters.

--TAP is translating internationally agreed humanitarian
transitional housing standards into Sinhala and Tamil for
distribution throughout the affected areas, with
instructions for all groups working in affected areas to
follow those standards.

--The Department of Census is releasing land-use maps for
GSL and NGOs to use in identifying suitable land for
rebuilding efforts.

--It was decided that TAP would meet weekly, alternating
meetings between Colombo and the field, in order to
ensure that District-level Government officials are kept
in the loop.

NGO Meeting with President Kumaratunga
--------------------------------------
9. (SBU) Ranaviraja also took a representative sample of
NGOs and international organizations to meet with
President Kumaratunga. While some participants felt the
President was defensive, others have speculated that
Ranaviraja wanted to have back-up, so that he was not the
only one bringing problems to the President's attention.

Bowles Visit
------------
10. (U) Former Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles
visited Sri Lanka from March 21-22, filling in for
President Clinton in his UN tsunami capacity during his
recovery from heart surgery. The UN hosted Bowles'
visit, during which he had the opportunity to travel
south to Galle. Bowles acknowledged that he was at first
discouraged by what he saw, realizing how much more still
needed to be done. After the District Secretary in
Galle, however, showed him a video of the immediate post-
tsunami situation, Bowles said he then realized "how much

SIPDIS
had been accomplished in what is actually a very short
period of time." The Ambassador hosted a country team
dinner for Bowles March 22. Bowles told the press that
Clinton would visit Sri Lanka again "in two months."

Import Clearance
----------------
11. (SBU) Bureaucratic inertia continues to pose a
challenge to the import of relief and reconstruction
items and equipment. Nonetheless, the GSL seems intent
on finding solutions when problems are raised
(unfortunately, however, on a case-by-case basis). We
are concerned, however, that as the deadline of April 26
for the duty free import of certain items approaches, the
GSL will again be faced with both the bottleneck and bad
publicity of having items sent for tsunami work facing
duty charges.

12. (SBU) The Navy and Customs appear to have worked out
a system for clearing cargo at the port, with the Navy
clarifying this week that it would not stop its security
inspections. There were press reports this week,
however, of over 100 containers that had not been
inspected because no one had stepped forward to claim the
cargo. Therefore, the containers are sitting in
warehouses and could be turned over to the Department of
Social Services if not claimed within 21 days. Another
problem, according to GSL contacts, is that some foreign
NGOs and private donors sometimes send relief items
without setting up a distribution network in country
beforehand.

Comment
-------
13. (SBU) We are at an important juncture, where senior
leadership appears to be grasping the scope of the
challenges facing the relief and reconstruction efforts.
We have had good receptivity to our concerns, and there
has been some positive momentum in the resolution of
problems. The key next step, however, is implementation
of a process that seeks to involve key stakeholders in
implementation and that uses the expertise and experience
of the private sector, Government and NGOs that are on
the ground to move forward in an efficient, cooperative
manner. We are hopeful that the GSL, faced with a truly
daunting task, is slowly getting its act together. End
Comment.
LUNSTEAD

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