[comment] Talks reveal the inefficiency of aid in development

from Business Daily Africa

Written by Yash Tandon

The OECD-inspired and promoted Accra Action Agenda (AAA) on “aid effectiveness” was concluded on September 4 2008 as a “consensus” document by almost 1,200 delegates from about 100-odd countries and intergovernmental organisations (IGOs).

There was also a side event of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) attended by some 600 delegates from 325 CSOs from 88 countries.

What did Accra achieve?

What the Accra conference achieved was to draw attention to the unwieldiness of aid as an instrument of development.

According to the OECD (Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development), donors sent 15,000 missions to 54 recipient countries in 2007. In Tanzania alone the local aid bureaucracy produced 2,400 quarterly reports to donors.

The Paris Declaration that formed the basis of the negotiations in Accra was aimed at bringing some order to the aid industry. However, the irony of the situation is that the present chaotic situation of the aid industry is the second best option for the poor countries than the anticipated order of the AAA. (The best option is to get out of aid dependence).

Western control

The AAA is a worse option than the present chaotic situation. This is because if the AAA does get implemented, it might reduce the 15,000 missions to 5,000 and Tanzania’s 2,400 quarterly reports to 400, but the process, monitoring, evaluation, and sanctions would now be centralised and controlled by western aid industry bureaucrats located in the World Bank and the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, and development or foreign (even defense) ministries of donor countries.

Why should that be so?

This is so for three reasons: one, because it is in these places where the “aid industry elite” are located – employing literally thousands of “aid experts”, “country report evaluators”, and “aid dispensers”.

Secondly, because the aid receiving countries are fragmented and divided, and are made to believe, erroneously, that without infusions of aid from the North they will not get out of poverty.

And thirdly and most importantly, because the AAA, if it succeeds in getting off the ground, will make the really poor countries (i.e. excluding such large countries as Brazil, China, India and South Africa) even more subject to the collective discipline and control of the northern donors and the agencies they control such as the IMF and the World Bank.

Dr Tandon is the Executive Director, South Centre

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