Evaluation of 383-HG-001 : first phase of housing guarantee program, Sri Lanka

Special evaluation covers the period 1/81-12/83 and is based on document review, site visits, and interviews with Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) and USAID/SL officials and with housing project residents. Although progress was delayed by the 11/82 national election and by ethnic conflict in 7/83 which left thousands homeless, 20,000 project-supported Aided Self-Help (ASH) units were completed in rural Sri Lanka between 1981-82 (vs. a goal of 13,210 a year), a success partly attributed to the advantages of the ASH production methods and to use of locally available and traditional construction materials - costs of materials for ASH are increasing rapidly, however. In urban areas, of the 3,600 planned Slum and Shanty Upgrading units, only 1,503 were completed, due to inadequate financing, lack of staff, technical difficulties in having two separate agencies involved, and legal problems concerning property rights and tenure. Cost recovery has been poor, but several steps are being taken to improve collections. In addition to housing construction, other key measures of project success include: upgraded indigenous skills in site and unit design, site supervision, and TA; growing GSL concern with cost control and a commitment to resolve problems of cost recovery; and improved collection and analysis of planning data in the Slum and Shanty Division of the Urban Development Authority. Two financial institutions devoted to housing have been developed: the State Mortgage Investment Bank and the Sri Lanka Housing Development Finance Corporation, both promising a greater capacity for financing and servicing loans. In 12/82, the GSL announced a new Million Houses Program (MHP), a highly decentralized program (to be funded under 383HG02) in which loans and TA are provided to individuals and communities. While announcement of the MHP led to neglect of the ASH Program, it represents a positive step, very much in keeping with A.I.D."s housing assistance goals in Sri Lanka. Key recommendations address: (1) management needs (e.g., monitoring, evaluation, review of land tenure and loan collection problems); and (2) the need to strengthen Sri Lanka"s Centre for Housing, Planning and Building (CHPB) and enable it to play a major role in research and training for housing planning.