The 54-year-old farmer was one of eight million people  young woman behind the desk littered with files called his name out at the rundown government office in the mountains of central Nepal. After 18 months of living in a shack made of corrugated iron, tarpaulin and bamboo amid the ruins of his earthquake-hit house, he is finally receiving long-promised government funds to start rebuilding his home.

“The money is late and it’s not enough to build what I had before, but at least the government has given it,” Gautam said to nods from fellow villagers gathered at the office in Hokshe village, 64 km (40 miles) east of Kathmandu. “You are looking at a country that has had three governments since the earthquake – all coalitions and none with a solid majority,” said Renaud Meyer, Country Director for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Nepal. “We’ve already endured one winter and two monsoons like this – out in the open with no protection from the rain and cold.”

Ongoing political instability in the country which has seen 24 governments in 26 years has stymied reconstruction efforts. Constant feuding between a myriad of political parties has fuelled political turmoil and weak governance in Nepal, delaying efforts to rebuild the country of 28 million people despite an outpouring of aid, analysts said.

“If you count from the day the NRA was established, we have made good progress and that has been appreciated by everyone,”

There is a concern the delay means people will not wait and will borrow money to rebuild basic structures again. “The people don’t wait, so if they can get some funds from somewhere, they will build a new home, but they will not get the technical guidance, knowledge and expertise to build a safer house,” said country director of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Renaud  Meyer. “It’s a hot pursuit – a race against time – to provide that help to people to ensure that the 9,000 people who died did not die for nothing. You don’t want more to die in the next earthquake.”