“You cannot demand or expect us to produce results or alleviate poverty when only 25 per cent of the donated money gets to us,” said Patrice Bemba, an official from the Democratic Republic of Congo Ministry of Finance.
He said a lot of the donor funds meant for programmes to help uplift vulnerable groups such as women and children from poverty or manage diseases, end up as fees and salaries to experts from the donating country. Other monies are lost as overhead costs.
“Much of the aid remains in the hands of consultants and companies in Europe, America and Asia, or is just tied aid,” said Robert Fox, of Oxfam Canada and Head of Oxfam International delegation to Accra talks.
“Donors cannot run away from this fact when two thirds of the money goes back to their countries as technical assistance and transaction overhead costs and less than 20 percent gets to developing countries as aid,” said representatives from Catholic and Protestant participants at the Accra forum.
A Kenya government official, who sought anonymity, said at times the donors send highly paid experts from their countries to offer services even in areas that do not need such assistance or where the country has enough technical experts.
“If you raise this issue, they tell you provision of such services was part of the contract the government signed with them, and as an officer, there is nothing you can do.”
However, some donors say they have no option but to source some of the skills and know-how from the developed countries.
“Although there is some justification in this, the issues are somewhat exaggerated,” says Werner Gruber Head of Operations, Economic Cooperation and Development at the Switzerland State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
“Nevertheless, we need to work on how to use experts in developing countries more and more.”
But Prof Ben Turok, Member of Parliament from South Africa said this practice means African countries have little say of how the money is used and where the goods and services are sourced from.
“In this scenario, the money does not even boost economic growth of African countries as local industries and experts are shunned. Instead, it continues to make companies and individuals in developed countries wealthier.”
Mr Fox said the only way to make African governments and donors accountable in the way donor money is used is to strengthen the media, civil society and the citizens by providing them with comprehensive information on donor money.
“Mechanisms should be put in place to ensure citizens in Africa and the North are empowered to demand answers from their governments on aid disbursement and use.”
Delegates want the media to be given information, on a quarterly basis, on where aid money is sourced, how much is disbursed and for what purposes, the time-frames for programmes and project implementation
By ARTHUR OKWEMBA
From nation.co.ke
