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The code of conduct for the International Red Cross, Red Crescent Movement, and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) in disaster relief, agreed upon in 1994, sets standards for disaster response and is used to monitor the standards of individual agencies. Oxfam is a part of this group.
Oxfam has also been a member of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership International (HAP-I) since the organization was formed in 2003. HAP-I has been instrumental in preparing personnel through induction and support in Oxfam’s tsunami response program in Aceh and Nias.
Oxfam is committed to strengthening accountability in all its work including reinforcing mechanisms in field programs to allow beneficiaries safe access to voice complaints.
Oxfam’s statement of legitimacy and accountability says, “Oxfam believes that being open and accountable is a core principle that should be present in all of our work. We want to be accountable for what we do and what we say. We need to continue to improve our accountability using a variety of means to different groups of people: people living in poverty whom we serve, donors and supporters, our partners and allies, and the wider public.”
Oxfam’s humanitarian response program in Aceh and Nias has made significant advances in this regard. “Accountability to beneficiaries brings important practical advantages,” says Ting Gorgonio, Accountability Coordinator of Oxfam’s Aceh Tsunami Humanitarian Response Programme.
Oxfam uses the Management Accounting for Nongovernmental Organisations (MANGO) Accountability Checklist in its work in Aceh and Nias. MANGO is a United Kingdom-registered charity, founded in 1999 with the mission of strengthening the financial management of NGOs. It provides practical services for the financial management of NGOs, and has developed a self-assessment checklist for NGOs to find out how accountable they are to their beneficiaries.
Quoting from the checklist, Ms. Gorgonio highlights that in practical terms accountability to beneficiaries increases the chance that an NGO’s activities meet beneficiaries’ real needs, increases the sense of ownership that beneficiaries feel toward an NGO’s work, improves the chance of long-term impact, supports beneficiaries’ self-respect and self-confidence, and reduces the risk of fraud, or of funds being used inefficiently.
She says that accountability consists of five components: providing information publicly, working with local social structures, involving people in decision making, a complaints procedure, and appropriate attitudes of NGO staff.
Community information officers and community development officers play a big role in informing and gathering feedback from communities, mainly through community meetings, but also by home visits to ensure women’s voices are considered in the decision-making process.
This was particularly important at the beginning of the rehabilitation process in Aceh and Nias when people lived in temporary shelters away from their villages. Men were the first to return, while women were responsible for maintaining the tent or barracks and could not attend meetings. Even after returning to the villages, discussions tended to be dominated by men, Ms. Gorgonio says.
Village and small-group meetings, information boards, and complaints boxes in camps and villages are part of a robust complaints mechanism and serve as additional channels of communication. A village project management committee hosts a complaints subgroup, consisting of the village head, members of traditional community structure, religious leaders, and the Oxfam representative. It deals with complaints from the community, many of which relate to the selection of beneficiaries and locations for housing, livelihood support, delay in project implementation, maintenance of facilities built by Oxfam, or the decision to build semipermanent rather than permanent houses.
For example, in Alue Deah Tengoh village in Aceh, people view information boards as effective tools. Just two letters in five months had been found in the village’s complaints box. However, the village head and the Oxfam field facilitator explain that the local community members prefer to express themselves verbally rather than in writing. Once concerns are raised and solved, the outcome is then detailed in a record book, and the case closed.
Azahari, a village head, explains his role in handling complaints: “The villagers initially agreed to get semipermanent houses but, when they saw the permanent houses another community had received, they changed their minds and demanded permanent houses as well.”
“I had to temper the community’s expectations, remind them of the agreement with Oxfam, and explain that Oxfam could not build the permanent houses,” he says. “My role is to bridge the communication between the community and Oxfam. It is not always easy. Fortunately, I do not work alone. We have a dedicated village committee to help.”
“ My role is to bridge the communication between the community and Oxfam. It is not always easy. Fortunately I do not work alone. We have a dedicated village committee to help "
- Pak Azahari, village headSuch communication has also helped solve issues in the village of Deah Baro, in Aceh, which has 140 returnee families. Oxfam’s target is to build 60 houses while other NGOs will build the remaining 80 houses.
The village committee is Oxfam’s partner in the implementation of the project and administers Indonesian rupiah (Rp)6 million per house ($680) intended as payment for the labor. Oxfam also supplies the construction materials. However, as construction progressed, questions began to be asked about how the committee spent the funds.
Laborers complained that they only received Rp5.5 million ($620) for work on each house. They asked the committee where the rest of the Rp500,000 ($56) went. Oxfam and the village committee met and the committee explained that they kept Rp500, 000 ($56) per house to cover other operating expenses—for photocopying documents needed to show ownership by beneficiaries, and supplies, communication and telephone calls to Oxfam; and funds to the supplier of material for fuel for generators, food for workers, and cash to cover materials, especially for the repairs of low-quality work.
The committee proposed that surplus funds at the end of the construction would go into the village fund. They agreed to explain the expenses in a wider community meeting at which villagers accepted the explanations on condition that the village committee account for everything and report how much would go to the village fund at the end of the project.
The villagers also insisted that Oxfam help build the committee’s skills to enable them to maintain records and prepare a financial report at the project’s completion.
There is still much scope to improve Oxfam’s accountability in its Aceh and Nias programs. Challenges to overcome include training staff new to community work and lacking experience in working for NGOs, and Oxfam in particular.
The scale of the Aceh and Nias program also continues to be a challenge, especially in terms of raising community expectations while maintaining adequate backup systems to deal with issues correctly. The high turnover of Oxfam staff also needs to be addressed.
Oxfam has conducted trials to find the best methods to solicit input and feedback on its future plans. In doing so, it is endeavoring to find the best possible options for the most effective outcome in its programs.
ADB acknowledges the contribution of Ting Gorgonio, Accountability Coordinator, Oxfam Aceh Tsunami Humanitarian Response Programme, in producing this article.
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