CDD Project Gone Wrong: Goat Restocking in Northern Kenya

CBD Project Gone Wrong: Goat Restocking in Northern Kenya

• A case study of how a CBD (Community-Driven Development) project can go horribly wrong.

The Promise of Goats

• Goats as valuable assets for communities.
• Multiple benefits: breeding, milking, slaughtering for food.
• Investment in goats seen as a way to help impoverished communities.

The Goat Restocking Project: A Plan Gone Awry

• Objective: Distribute 600 goats to 60 of the poorest households (10 goats each).
• A committee formed and a list of beneficiaries created.
• Funds transferred to the committee for goat procurement.

Embezzlement and Corruption

• The committee only purchased 340-380 goats instead of 600.
• The committee pocketed the remaining money.
• Many of the purchased goats were sick.

Distribution Failures

• Goats not distributed as planned.
• Families not on the list received goats, while some on the list received none.
• Only 60% of the funds reached intended beneficiaries, meaning 40% ended up elsewhere.
• Committee members (who were also on the beneficiary list) received a disproportionate share of the goats and money.

Net Loss for the Community

• 600-800 local and imported goats died.
• The community ended up with fewer goats than before the project.

Kickback Scheme

• A district official skimmed 16% of the funds as a kickback for awarding the project to the village.
• Villages were essentially competing against each other, offering kickbacks to secure the project.
• Kickback = 0.16 * TotalFunds

Local Players and Their Motives

• Local village leaders lobbied for the project for personal gain.
• Local committee members (educated but underemployed men in their thirties) presented themselves as the best candidates to land the project.
• They aimed to take a cut of the funds.

Lack of Accountability

• Significant disquiet in the village, but no embezzled money was returned.
• No project leaders or public officials were punished or arrested.
• Villagers didn't protest to public officials outside the village.

Uncovering the Fraud

• The fraud was revealed by a long-term researcher who returned to the village and heard about what happened.

The Catch-22

• The village leaders convinced the villagers that:
  • They could secure the project.
  • They were indispensable in managing the project to secure the next project.

Decentralization's Shortcomings

• The promise of CDD projects is not matched by reality.
• There exists tension between:
  • Increased accountability from below.
  • Oversight from above to prevent local elites from capturing and diverting resources.
• Bringing government closer to the people also distances it from national-level oversight.

Decentralization: A Silver Bullet That Misfires

• Decentralization sounds great in theory, with strong rationale for improving livelihoods.
• In practice, reality interferes, and the promise remains unfulfilled.