DEVELOPMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Donors Tightening Aid Guidelines

By James Hall Reprint | | Print |

James Hall

MBABANE, Aug 28 2002 (IPS) - û With ôdonor fatigue” diminishing charitable and humanitarian contributions to developing countries from citizens of the developed world and their governments, more stringent aid guidelines are now tying aid relief to human rights issues.

ôIf governments do not adhere to human rights, they may be penalised by the withholding of assistance, it is true, but the real threat to continuing economic and humanitarian aid is government corruption,” says Tanya Zuma, an aid worker with the Catholic relief agency, Caritas in Swaziland.

Caritas assists refugees from Mozambique, Congo, Rwanda and other war and poverty-ravaged countries.

Aid assistance to Malawi from Scandinavian countries was suspended this month after donors learned government was diverting such assistance to unauthorised uses.

Donors can no longer look the other way when such corruption occurs, say aid organisation officials, because the days of unlimited resources are at an end. Limited humanitarian assistance must not be squandered, they say.

In Swaziland, which the Economist magazine says is next in line for aid suspension if government does not crack down on corruption, circumstances are different. Food assistance from such organisations as the World Food Programme (WFP) is making its way to the one-quarter of the population who by year’s end face starvation due to drought-induced crop failures and inefficient government land use policy. But while 19 million U.S. dollars is required to keep Swazis alive, government has contributed only 500,000 U.S. dollars thus far.

Instead, King Mswati announced at a news conference that he welcomes his appointed government’s efforts to purchase a jet for his personal use that costs 50 million U.S. dollars.

Vusie Ginindza, editor of the local Times Sunday newspaper says, ôI am against donor aid because it subsidises bad government policies and misplaced priorities.”

A Times of Swaziland editorial suggested, ôSooner or later, donors will ask why they are subsidising the purchase of a private jet by providing food aid that government could provide itself, seeing how it can produce millions of dollars for a luxury item.”

British ambassador to Swaziland, David Reader, says support from Swaziland’s former colonial master and current Commonwealth partner will not be dropped because of the king’s plane purchase. ôAs long as there are starving people, we have no choice but to do what we can to assist,” he says.

Some charity groups whose resources are stretched to the limit feel they may have to take a harsher line. ôRight now, we only have about two months worth of food to distribute to the people. We are going to be here for as long as donations continue to come, and they will do so if there is no bad publicity,” warns Mary Ann Marks, who oversees food distribution in Swaziland for the World Food Programme.

She defines ôbad publicity” that could jeopardise humanitarian assistance as a corruption scandal or government oppression of opposition groups.

Mindful of aid suspensions in Malawi, The Food Security Consortium, made up of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which are members of Swaziland’s National Disaster Task Force, took out newspaper adverts to announce, ôWe are currently under a lot of pressure as the demand for food is extremely high in Southern Africa.”

In a press statement entitled ôPurchase of Jet Worsens Food Security Outlook,” the consortium complained that its effort to feed the starving of Swaziland ôhas been undermined by the government’s decision to buy a jet.”

The jet purchase, which would double the country’s external debt and whose cost is a quarter of the national budget, is a symbol of inappropriate spending, says aid worker Ann Dlamini of the Food Security Consortium.

ôThis gives the impression that Swaziland has enough resources, and therefore does not deserve international community support. The news of the purchase of the jet has reached the international community, which might not consider our proposal (for more food assistance) favourably. The public should be aware that we only have a commitment for a two-month (food) supply, and we can only pray that the aid continues to save lives,” she says.

Aid workers trace the birth of donor intolerance of corruption to the Alan Boesak case in Cape Town, South Africa. At the Foundation for Peace and Justice that he headed, Boesak allegedly diverted millions of rand in donor contributions for his personal use to sustain an affluent lifestyle. What infuriated Norwegian donors was that the squandered funds were intended for the disadvantaged and orphaned children of South Africa. Boesak, an anti-apartheid leader who was close to former president Nelson Mandela, was sent to prison for three years.

ôOversight and accountability are now key requirements to obtain aid assistance,” says Cyprian Mabuza of the Catholic refugee aid organisation Caritas.

Mozambique offers an example of donor assistance well spent and accounted for. Cyclone-driven flooding devastated much of the country’s southern provinces two years ago, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.

In addition to humanitarian relief, massive efforts were mounted, mostly with government to government assistance from South Africa and the European Union, to rebuild washed away roads, rail, electricity and phone lines.

ôOnce one of the poorest nations in the world, Mozambique wisely used aid assistance that came in the wake of the flooding to rebuild itself and boost its economy,” says Arnaldo H. Lango of TVM Mozambique. He notes that Mozambique is now the top African trading partner with the regional economic powerhouse South Africa.

Mozambique is not among the nations facing severe food shortages this year, which may be ironic because the Indian Ocean nation’s exemplary record in humanitarian assistance usage, coupled with government’s responsible spending policies and poverty eradication efforts, would ensure that country an unconditional response from international donor organisations.