Document #1200236
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
The following information was provided in
an 11 March 1997 telephone interview with a United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) program officer based in Quito,
Ecuador.
The Fondo Ecuatoriano para Progreso
Popular, or as it is known by its official name in Latin, Fondo
Ecuatoriano Populorum Progressio (FEPP, Ecuadorian Fund for Popular
Progress) is one of the oldest and largest local non-governmental
organizations in Ecuador, and has been in operation for over 30
years. A Catholic development agency, FEPP has a number of projects
that focus on the areas of rural development, bilingual education,
land tenure, health and women's issues. The source noted that FEPP
does receive funds from outside the country, primarily from
Europe.
The FEPP regularly issues annual reports
and submits to external audits, which the source noted is not
required by law. The source noted that in addition to these basic
accounting procedures, expenditures must be justified on a project
level and are subject to an internal monitoring system of expenses,
which is reported to the board of directors and the external donors
who are directly supporting the specific project. The source
admitted that he had no further knowledge of FEPP's internal
expenditure tracking and budget monitoring systems of FEPP. The
source stated he was unaware of any reports or charges of
corruption involving FEPP.
The FEPP does not jointly administer
projects with, nor receive funds from, the Ecuadorian government,
but prefers to cooperate with church- and community-based
organizations who work directly with the communities that will be
affected by a project. The source noted that although the FEPP had
to collaborate with government ministries on their land tenure
credit program, the program was structured so that funds were
channelled directly to the communities in the form of credit, which
was then used to negotiate the purchase of land and secure tenure
from the appropriate state agencies and local land owners.
The following information was provided in
an 11 March 1996 telephone interview with the director of Maquita
Cushunchic Comercializado como Hermanos (MCCH), a Catholic
community development organization headquartered in Quito, Ecuador,
that is closely affiliated to FEPP. The director of FEPP currently
sits on the board of directors of MCCH.
The source stated that the head office of
FEPP is located in Quito, with Sr. Jose Tonello presently in the
post of director. The source noted FEPP is a large funding agency
that is direct and transparent in all of aspects of its operations.
The source stated that a large percentage of funding comes from the
Catholic Church and church-affiliated organizations in Latin
America, Europe and North America. The source admitted he did not
have knowledge about the accounting procedures of the organization,
but stated that in his long association with the organization, he
was unaware of any reports or charges of corruption involving the
FEPP.
Economic Geography states that the
FEPP is an organization strongly influenced by liberation theology
(July 1993).
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Economic Geography [Worcester,
Mass.]. July 1993. Anthony Bebbington. "Modernization from Below:
An Alternative Indigenous Development." (NEXIS)
Maquita Cushunchic Comercializado como
Hermanos, Quito. 11 March 1996. Telephone interview with
director.
United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), Quito. 11 March 1997. Telephone interview with program
officer.