COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Peter Burgess

AID Effectiveness: Conversation and Critique

Reply-To: wfeek@comminit.com To: peterbnyc@gmail.com

Dear Peter Burgess

AID Effectivness Conversation - The CI Blogs

Hi and best wishes. Many thanks for being part of The Drum Beat network.

Given the interest and conversation around James Deane's blog on the really important issue of 'AID Effectiveness' I wanted to further encourage your critical review of his piece from your perspective and analysis.

The blog can be read at http://comminit.com/policy-blogs/content/costs-and-benefits-consensus-future-aid-hangs-balance

It includes:

'The West has often messed up its development assistance. It has used aid to advance its own economic and political interests, lectured and hectored aid recipients and sometimes got things badly wrong. I would argue that it has also tried to learn from its mistakes and that, for all its problems, the aid effectiveness agreements of Paris and Accra were essentially progressive ones aimed at rectifying the mistakes of the past.'

http://comminit.com/policy-blogs/content/costs-and-benefits-consensus-future-aid-hangs-balance

Some excerpts from the many substantive comments received follow below.

Please do join this conversation with your analysis, critial review and ideas on both James's blog and the comments submitted from the network.

To contribute please scroll to bottom of http://comminit.com/policy-blogs/content/costs-and-benefits-consensus-future-aid-hangs-balance and 'Post new comment' (no need to log in!)

You can also: Rate this blog; Share it through your Twitter account; and, Like for your Facebook page. Thanks for engaging.

Some of the comments/critique submitted (very brief excerpts only) include:

'Very limited progress has been made in enhancing the capacity of developing country citizens to subject aid spending or national development policies to real scrutiny.' - Joseph Mtemang'ombe

'Aid recipient countries lack well-functioning and substantive freedom of information acts. In Tanzania for instance, the Parliament rejected a draft freedom of information act,' - Mkama Mwijarubi

'I was just so tempted to air my pessimism and cynicism. This leads me to even think whether development aid is still effective in bringing positive transformation to developing countries, particularly as we wage war against environmental destruction, climate change and poverty eradication.' - Anonymous

'I hope that this glaring contradiction did not go unnoticed in the conference and that considerable attention was given to how development aid, both North-South and South-South, played a role in the remarkable development that occurred in that country.' - Larry Kincaid

'And the Busan declaration does little to convince me that we will see much change in the power dynamic any time soon. Yes a recognition of new players and of south-south cooperation, but not much on civil society or civil society organisation' - Anonymous

'As far back as 1964, African countries were asking for better trade and not aid; sadly, today, we are talking more about aid than trade.' - Raymond Ablorh

'...today in South Africa we have serious challenge of disappearance of good, credible and important organizations because of lack of funding. International donors have signed bilateral agreements with government hence the bulk of funds are channeled to government coffers.' - Michael Gogwane

These comments can all be accessed at http://comminit.com/policy-blogs/ - scroll down

Oh - if you want another blog on this theme I wrote a little piece called 'Development Effectiveness: Pushing the Elephant in the Room Uphill!' http://comminit.com/policy-blogs/content/development-effectiveness-pushing-elephant-room-uphill

Please do comment, review, rate, share, etc

Thanks for joining this conversation.

Best wishes

Warren

Warren Feek Executive Director The Communication Initiative

www.comminit.com wfeek@comminit.com

Twitter: @warrencomminit 1-250-658-6372 - work 1-250-588-8795 - mobile 1-250-658-1728 - fax Facebook: Warren Feek Peter Burgess Fri, Dec 16, 2011 at 6:32 PM To: wfeek@comminit.com Dear Warren Thanks for this 'What gets measured, gets done' ... the problem is that nothing worth a damn gets measured. The people with resources only measure profit, GDP growth and stock market prices ... leaving most of the world's population out of the dynamic and without funds. I am appalled at the lack of 'effectiveness' in both AID and in society as a whole. Progress in science and technology has been quite amazing, while progress in society is a total mess. This is no accident ... it is a ubiquitous search for profit no matter what. I would like to follow up in more detail ... to describe TrueValueMetrics. Right now I am heading out to join Occupy in Zuccotti Park for the 3 month anniversary tomorrow. I am not bothered by a rich 1%, but I am very much bothered by an evil and rich 1%. Peter Burgess @truevaluemetric [Quoted text hidden] -- ____________ Peter Burgess Meaningful Metrics for a Smart Society twitter: @peterbnyc @truevaluemetric www.truevaluemetrics.org www.truevaluemetrics.com blog: http://truevaluemetrics.blogspot.com blog: http://communityanalyticsca.blogspot.com www.tr-ac-net.org (being phased out!) mobile: 212 744 6469 landline in PA 570 431 4043 email: peterbnyc@gmail.com skype: peterburgessnyc Books: Search Peter Burgess at www.lulu.com