Effectiveness of governance and accountability mechanism of the Second Community Development and Livelihood Improvement Project

Abstract

This research study is aimed to investigate the effectiveness of governance and accountability mechanism of Second Community Development and Livelihood Improvement Project (SCDLIP). The study has focused on village Organizations (VOs) in Project have been established in nine districts namely, Badulla, Hambantota, Monaragala, Ratnapura, Polonnarauwa, Nuwara Eliya, Kegalle, Kalutara and Kurunegala districts and the literature review also discusses the contribution of governance and accountability mechanism. The study has four specific objectives. Firstly, to measure the village level risk areas of SCDLIP, secondly, it to determine the success level of governance and accountability mechanism, thirdly, to examine problem areas in the governance and accountability mechanism and finally, it identify the relationship between each other risk areas. The study was designed as a descriptive correlation research. Out of 1,010 village organizations in SCDLIP were randomly selected as the sample of the study. The sample represented 20% of the target population and it was 210 village organizations. According to the results of governance and accountability mechanism, overall malfunctions in intra-village governance systems progress (institutional), financial management progress (financial), and the irregularities in procurement and assets management, weakness in disclosure policies and procedures progress (procurement) higher than the Project expected targets. The overall weakness in disclosure policies and procedures and poor communication progress (communication) and the inactive complaint and grievance redress mechanism progress (grievance) was lower than the Project expected targets. According to the problem areas in the governance and accountability mechanism of SCDLIP, one of the major finding not using clear reporting structure and to address the identified issues and how to provide feedback on these actions from VO to national level. It was unclear whether the process takes into account the actions at various levels to address the problem. In overall, the system appeared to be disjointed and conducted in an ad hoc fashion. Finally, the researcher has presented three types of recommendation process owners of SCDLIP. The study also suggests some recommendations for the future studies.