Germany has rejected Britains call to effectively double aid for some of the worlds poorest countries, an advisor to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder on the G8 summit said Monday, reports the World Bank Press review Tuesday.
Uschi Eid, who specializes in African affairs at the overseas development ministry, said at a briefing prior to the Group of Eight summit to be held on July 6-7 in Gleneagles, Scotland that doubling development aid, as urged by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, “will not solve Africas problems”.
According to her the right institutions and personnel were needed before a dramatic increase in aid would be sensible. Eid said Africa would be better served if the worlds rich nations stuck to the goals of NEPAD, an ambitious program for African development launched in July 2001 to encourage good governance, foreign investment and the investment of African capital in Africa.
Uschi Eid told Mondays issue of the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung about her concern that the G8 industrialized nations were orienting themselves towards an increase in aid.
– If there is such a realignment in the discourse on development aid, and I see this with great alarm, then we will come up with twice as much money but still can not solve Africas problems, said Eid.
She added that if self-reliance was not encouraged, it was no surprise that unpopular reforms could not be implemented or corruption checked. Eid said that she doubted if African governments were equipped to properly spend double the level of development aid given to them in the past.
Eid said the upcoming G8 summit will focus on proposals for reform of Africas private sector and better elementary education, job creation and water management on the continent. She said Germany would urge countries at the July 6-8 summit to support ongoing development initiatives under the Organization of African Unitys New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).
Eid said better sharing of water resources was one such issue. – We emphasize a cross-border water supply system where neighboring areas are willing to share, she noted.
Eid stated that Germany hopes for support from many countries, but said countries need to not only give money but must also offer skilled assistance. – There is no need to double financial support. Money alone will not do the job. Instead we need skilled men and women who can realize our promising goals, she concluded.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
