Thursday 17 November 2011

oxfam warns that donor government negotiators meeting in paris are considering scrapping the global aid monitoring system

an international agency, oxfam has warned that donor government negotiators meeting in paris tomorrow are considering scrapping the global aid monitoring system that keeps donors honest and improves the quality of their foreign assistance.
according to a statement made available to radio phoenix by media and communications coordinator misozi tembo, the agency says if what the donor governments want to do happens, it will lock countries like zambia into poverty.
ms. tembo notes that two weeks away from a crucial global aid effectiveness meeting in busan, south korea, which will be attended by more than 2000 delegates including us secretary of state hilary clinton and un head ban ki-moon, donor countries  are pushing to drop aid effectiveness deals that have been struck with recipient countries over the last decade.
and oxfam spokesperson gregory adams says donors have performed badly on improving the effectiveness of their aid, and now they’re trying to change the rules of the game.
mr. adams says scrapping the mutually agreed and global monitoring system, as donors are proposing, would “fatally weaken political pressure to make aid more effective, and make it extremely difficult to continue to uphold the paris principles in practice. 
he says rather than trying to negotiate their way out of their commitments, donors should grasp the opportunity to fix what’s wrong with aid as there are more hungry people in the world than live in north america and europe combined.
mr. adams observes that at stake is the ‘paris declaration’ of 2005 where donors and poor countries struck a deal: recipients would tackle corruption, strengthen their institutions and take other steps to better manage aid.
he says in return, the declaration says donors would make their aid more coordinated and predictable, and give developing countries greater control over how the money is spent and both agreed on a global monitoring system which would keep track of progress and revise and improve future aid.
the oxfam spokesperson says six years later, countries receiving aid have done well on keeping their promises but donors have not.
mr. adams says the oecd’s latest monitoring report shows that developing countries have made ‘significant’ progress, particularly in improving their planning and financial management but donors have made significant progress on only one of their 13 targets which is improving coordination among them.

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