Whistleblower exposes how development sector develops itself

A new autobiography penned by a former development sector expert, Mr Penh Namh, has created immense controversy in the sector.  

Members of NGOs, government authorities and practitioner firms have condemned in the strongest language the contents of the book and said it is completely false and is aimed at destabilising what is otherwise a thriving sector.

This correspondent got in touch with Mr Penh Namh about some of the more controversial topics he addressed in his book.

"Each year, my office would have a big convention where ministers, dignitaries, and the who's who of the development sector would gather. This convention was to raise awareness against world hunger and guess what the biggest attraction was? The buffet lunch.

"The convention was ALWAYS held at a glitzy hotel, always a five-star and tonnes of food would be passed around while we talked about important things like addressing the malnutrition problem in refugee camps," says Penh Namh.

"Oh, and speaking of refugee camps. We would work there all day, helping the poor, malnourished babies with our fortified food products and get out at 5:00pm to sip coffee in another glitzy cafe just outside the camp. You must have heard of it, Southstart Coffee Roasters, sister concern of a famous chain in the capital."

The former development sector expert, who became even richer after the publication of this autobiography, also lamented the slow nature of development work -- most of the work was bogged down in long meetings, training and capacity building workshops, seminars, conferences and views-exchange programmes.

"The bigger a development org, the more funding it got and despite everything we did, somehow the poor remained poor, and we would be left with a hefty amount of funding at the end of the year which we were desperate to spend to ensure we got the same amount of funding the next year. So, what would we do? We arranged more meetings, more seminars and more training for trainers. You get the drift.

"We would also use that money to collect stories of poor people we have helped with our work. This meant hiring photographers and writers and they would capture a previously desolate woman who is now all smiles because we helped her make a cucumber patch."

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