US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO583

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, Tsunami, Political Parties 
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 
 
SIPDIS 
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