Download or read book The closure of DFID s bilateral aid programme in Burundi written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2011-10-28 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Department for International Development (DFID) has decided to close its bilateral aid programme in Burundi in 2012. Burundi is a fragile country which has experienced decades of civil war. It is one of the poorest countries in the world and is unlikely to meet most of the Millennium Development Goals. DFID's states that despite such closure, it will: continue funding Burundi both through a regional programme Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) and multilateral donors (the EU, the World Bank, African Development Bank) to which DFID is a major contributor; that, other donors will take over bilateral programmes which it has been funding and that the cost of the office in Burundi is too high in relation to the size of the programme. The Committee believes though that the Government should reinstate a bilateral aid programme to Burundi for the following reasons, including: that the UK currently has bilateral programmes with all the countries in the Eastern Africa and Great Lakes Region and that the UK's engagement continues to be critical throughout this region both in perception and reality; that Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA), has already helped to increase Burundi's collection of tax revenues; that there are funding gaps in many sectors in Burundi; that there is a regional dimension to conflicts in the Great Lakes area and Burundi is particularly fragile. The Committee states if DFID does cease bilateral aid to Burundi, a responsible exit strategy is the least it can do to minimise the negative consequences.

Download or read book The Closure of DFID s Bilateral Aid Programme in Burundi written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. International Development Committee and published by . This book was released on 2012-02-03 with total page 13 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Government response to HC 1134 (ISBN 9780215561985)

Download or read book HC 1138 International Development Committee The Legacy Parliament 2010 15 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. International Development Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 25 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the end of the 2010-2015 Parliament approaches, the Committee has taken the opportunity to look back on their work. This Report outlines some of the Committee's work, progress and effectiveness during this Parliament and sets out areas that may be of interest to their successor committee. It has also provided the opportunity to scrutinise what actions the Government has taken with regard to issues and recommendations raised in our reports.

Download or read book Department for International Development annual report and resource accounts 2010 11 and business plan 2011 15 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-03-09 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While DFID's total budget is increasing, the Department will both restrict operating costs to 2% by 2014-15 and reduce its administrative costs by a third in real terms, from £128 million in 2010-11 to £94 million by 2014-15. This report warns that capping operational costs and staff numbers may not reduce overall costs or improve effective delivery of development assistance. The International Development Committee also raises concerns that cost pressures are driving DFID to use consultants to deliver its programmes, rather than in-house expertise. The Department spends £450 million on technical cooperation per year. Much of this is good work, yet it was unclear exactly what this money was spent on, or how effective it was and the extent to which external providers were used. DFID needs to improve its assessment of which projects and services it should use consultants for; and assess more carefully the use of consultants to manage the Department's own delivery programmes. In its efforts to reduce administrative spending DFID might be 'exporting' these costs to other organisations, including NGOs and multilateral aid organisations, with higher real administration costs. The Department should assess the best and most effective way to deliver development assistance as it may be able to do it more cheaply and effectively than external organisations. The report recommends that the Department improves its tracking of and reporting on the total cost of administering its aid programme with the aim of quantifying how much aid actually ends up reaching recipients.

Download or read book Working effectively in fragile and conflict affected states written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-01-05 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The International Development Committee believes the Government is right to increase aid to fragile and conflict-affected states, such as Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) , but it must prepared suspend or even cancel a programme if a Government flouts agreements or refuses to engage in efforts to increase transparency and accountability. The MPs urge DFID to set out specific governance conditions under which it will provide direct budget support to fragile states, and any under which it will be withdrawn and apply these consistently. They also recommend that DFID invest more in community-led local initiatives which respond to community priorities and give communities more confidence to hold their governments to account. Two case studies of Rwanda and the DRC highlight areas of concern. Rwanda is heavily dependent on aid which provides 45% of government expenditure. The UK will provide £90 million to Rwanda in 2014-15. While Rwanda has made progress in reducing poverty, concerns have been expressed about its human rights record and the lack of political pluralism. The Committee urges the UK Government to use its position as the largest bilateral donor to Rwanda to insist on improvements to the country's governance. In the DRC there is concern about high levels of violence against women and girls. DFID should give greater priority to tackling this in its programme and include the reduction of violence against women in its results framework for the DRC.

Download or read book Parliamentary Debates Hansard written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 818 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Global Governance and Local Peace written by Susanna P. Campbell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-06-07 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Local peacebuilding and global accountability -- The country context--Burundi from 1999 to 2014 -- Ingos in peacebuilding--globally unaccountable, locally adaptive -- International organizations in peacebuilding--globally accountable, locally constrained -- Bilateral development donors--accountable for global targets, not local change

Download or read book EU development assistance written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-04-27 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The UK spends approximately £1.23 billion each year on aid through the European Union, approximately 16% of the UK's total aid budget. Only 46% of this aid, however, goes to low income countries - a figure that MPs say is 'unacceptable'. Instead middle income countries bordering Europe are benefiting. Turkey has consistently been in the top five recipients of European Commission aid (223 million euros in 2010) as has Serbia (euros 218 million in 2010). The Committee is calling on the UK Government to press for funding to be diverted, away from higher middle income countries bordering Europe, to give greater help to the poorest people in the world. In order to make this happen, the MPs say Ministers must challenge and change the definition of Official Development Assistance (ODA). It appears to be being used as a way of fudging the figures to help other European countries meet the target for 0.7% of GDP to be given as aid. The Committee recognises that there are a number of advantages to giving aid through the EU but identifies a number of problems with the way EU Development Assistance works. Overall, the European Commission has improved its performance over the last decade and has recently proposed further improvements to development policy in An Agenda for Change. The Committee supports a number of these proposed changes, but it does have concerns that conditionality should not hurt the poor for the sins of their governments

Download or read book South Sudan written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-04-12 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Republic of South Sudan gained independence from the Republic of Sudan on 9 July 2011, following civil wars that began in 1955 and left more than two million dead. Challenges faced by the new government are daunting with some of the worst social indicators globally. The Department for International Development has quickly established and scaled up a full office in Juba and developed a four-year development and humanitarian aid programme amounting to some £360 million making South Sudan one of the largest recipients of UK bilateral aid. Regrettably, the delivery of DFID's programme is already at risk before it has properly begun with the humanitarian crisis created by the loss of South Sudan's oil revenue, combined with the increasing number of returnees and refugees arriving in the country and ongoing inter-tribal violence. The South Sudan government has introduced austerity measures to cope with the loss of 98% of its income but the UK, and other donors, cannot bankroll South Sudan through this austerity period. DFID has already re-focussed its development programmes away from long-term development towards supporting the most vulnerable people and saving lives. Overall, the Committee believes that DFID's programme is diverse and challenging, although it is too early to judge its success. There have been well-documented difficulties with both World Bank and UN administered pooled funds in South Sudan and there is concern at channelling aid through them. The emphasis that DFID gives to the equality of girls and women in its programme is welcomed and, despite the pressures and uncertainties this should be maintained

Download or read book Private foundations written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-01-20 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The International Development Committee reports that private philanthropy is improving the lives of some of the world's poorest people, but the Department for International Development (DFID) must do more to engage private foundations in coordinated global efforts to improve the effectiveness of aid. While private foundations make a huge contribution, concerns have been raised about the transparency and accountability. Foundations should sign up to International Aid Transparency Initiative guidelines and be brought into global structures to ensure that they coordinate their work with other donors. DFID currently engages with foundations on an ad-hoc basis and the report recommends a more systematic approach to the Department's relationship with private philanthropic organisations. The Committee recognises that DFID officials cannot meet all small foundations on a one-to-one basis, but it believes that the Department should make more efforts to engage with them. A designated contact official for foundations should be established and a DFID minister should hold an annual meeting with groups of smaller foundations. The Department should produce a publication indicating what DFID funding foundations might apply for, and how to apply. DFID should include foundations as fully as possible in future development events and processes, including the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness; the forthcoming Rio + 20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development; and discussions of a post-2015 Millennium Development Goal Framework.

Download or read book Financial crime and development written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2011-11-30 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: MPs on the International Development Committee have called on the Government of Tanzania to bring individuals to court to answer allegations that corrupt payments were made during the sale of an air traffic control system by BAE Systems. The Select Committee successfully pressured BAE Systems in the summer to honour its agreement with the Serious Fraud Office and make a full transfer instead of phased payments of £29.5 million. The Committee believes it is essential that all those involved in financial crime are dealt with appropriately, and that where there is a case to answer individuals are brought before the courts. The Committee welcomes the Government of Tanzania's plans to bring individuals before the courts. The Committee recommends that future settlements made by the Serious Fraud Office - as a result of plea bargaining in relation to financial crimes - should be drawn much more tightly than the agreement concluded with BAE. Future settlement agreements should be explicit about what the company is required to do and by when. The report raises concerns that the payment for the 'benefit of the people of Tanzania' remained outstanding more than eight months after the Court hearing and that BAE Systems envisaged spreading payment over a period of years, describing the payments as 'our money'. After pressure from the Committee, BAE has now agreed to make the £29.5 million payment to the Government of Tanzania to provide textbooks and school equipment. DFID is finalising the necessary arrangements for the procurement and delivery and the International Development Committee has pledged to monitor how the money is spent and help ensure that the funds are used for the benefit of the people of Tanzania. The report also recommends that the Government publish an annual Anti-Corruption Report listing what the Government is doing to combat international corruption, including transnational financial crimes.

Download or read book DFID s role in building infrastructure in developing countries written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2011-10-07 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The International Development Committee reports that DFID can be proud of much of the work it does to build infrastructure in developing countries - on which the Department spends £1 billion annually. But it calls on Ministers to improve monitoring of infrastructure spending through multilateral organisations, such as the EU, World Bank and African Development Bank. The UK should also insist on provisions in large multilateral infrastructure projects which require local capacity building in order to boost local employment and the private sector with developing countries. The MPs also raise concerns that infrastructure construction in developing countries is particularly prone to corruption. The report points to DFID's success in helping to establish the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST) to counter corruption, which has proved effective and is to be transferred to the World Bank. DFID should continue to provide the funding and staff time to ensure that CoST can build on the successes of its pilot phase. DFID should publish a departmental strategy on infrastructure. This would help DFID clearly to convey its rationale and priorities within the sector, emphasising that DFID funding is directed to the Department's key priorities within the sector, including the need to build local capacity, implement road safety measures and ensure the use of technologies appropriate to the needs of developing countries. Far more private money is needed to finance large infrastructure projects, and DFID has done well in helping leverage private funding through initiatives such as the Private Infrastructure Development Group.

Download or read book Global Finance and Development written by David Hudson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-11-27 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The question of money, how to provide it, and how to acquire it where needed is axiomatic to development. The realities of global poverty and the inequalities between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ are clear and well documented, and the gaps between world’s richest and the world’s poorest are ever-increasing. But, even though funding development is assumed to be key, the relationship between finance and development is contested and complex. This book explores the variety of relationships between finance and development, offering a broad and critical understanding of these connections and perspectives. It breaks finance down into its various aspects, with separate chapters on aid, debt, equity, microfinance and remittances. Throughout the text, finance is presented as a double-edged sword: while it is a vital tool towards poverty reduction, helping to fund development, more critical approaches remind us of the ways in which finance can hinder development. It contains a range of case studies throughout to illustrate finance in practice, including, UK aid to India, debt in Zambia, Apple’s investment in China, microfinance in Mexico, government bond issues in Chile, and financial crisis in East Asia. The text develops and explores a number of themes throughout, such as the relationship between public and private sources of finance and debates about direct funding versus the allocation of credit through commercial financial markets. The book also explores finance and development interactions at various levels, from the global structure of finance through to local and everyday practices. Global Finance and Development offers a critical understanding of the nature of finance and development. This book encourages the reader to see financial processes as embedded within the broader structure of social relationships. Finance is defined and demonstrated to be money and credit, but also, crucially, the social relationships and institutions that enable the creation and distribution of credit and the consequences thereof. This valuable text is essential reading for all those concerned with poverty, inequality and development.

Download or read book The future of DFID s programme in India written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2011-06-14 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The test of whether the UK should continue to give aid to India is whether that aid makes a distinctive contribution to poverty reduction. The Government of India has primary responsibility for this and has already reduced poverty levels from 60 percent in 1981 to 42 percent in 2005. But whilst the economy is growing there are large pockets of poverty that still remain. The DFID plans to change some of its programme, focusing primarily on three of the poorest states, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, also changing the sectors it prioritises and putting 50 percent of its budget through the private sector by 2015.The Committee supports the focus on the poorest states but provided it is supported by the Government of India. They recommend supporting in particular sanitation, malnutrition, maternal and child health and social exclusion. The Committee supports the Government's aim to forge a new enhanced partnership with India with its mutual benefits from cooperation in trade and investment but the DFID must ensure UK Government policies help protect the poorest and reduce inequalities. The Committee assuming that over the next four years as India continues to grow at current rates it will have increased its capacity to tackle poverty and meet the millennium development goals. DFID should continue to provide technical assistance where requested but the funding mechanism should change by 2015.

Download or read book Global Governance Legitimacy and Legitimation written by Magdalena Bexell and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-02 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rules set by global governance organizations affect communities across the world. Such organizations increasingly seek to obtain legitimacy in the eyes of groups beyond their member state elites. This book advances scholarly debate on the politics of legitimacy and legitimation in global governance. It brings together researchers from different subfields of International Relations in order to highlight trends and contradictions in the contemporary politics of legitimacy across areas of sustainable development, humanitarian relief, responsible investment, sustainable fisheries and labour standards. The chapters explore legitimation efforts by various forms of global governance bodies, such as intergovernmental organizations, public–private partnerships and fully private bodies. The book demonstrates that different governance forms beyond the nation state share deep legitimacy challenges and engage in continuous legitimation attempts. Questions on the audiences of such legitimation attempts are particularly pivotal in understanding the politics of legitimacy. Audiences are not predetermined but constituted through interaction between legitimation efforts and the reactions to those of targeted and other groups, mirroring broader global power relations. This book was published as a special issue of Globalizations.

Download or read book Africa in International Politics written by Ian Taylor and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-02-24 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction : understanding Africa's place in world politics / Ian Taylor and Paul Williams -- The contending currents in United States involvement in Sub-Saharan Africa / James J. Hentz -- Britain and Africa after the Cold War : beyond damage limitation? / Paul Williams -- France's policy towards Africa : continuity or change? / Daniela Kroslak -- The "all-weather friend"? : Sino-African interaction in the twenty-first century / Ian Taylor -- Russia and Africa : moving in the right direction? / Vladimir Shubin -- Japan-Africa relations : patterns and prospects / Scarlett Cornelissen -- Canada and Africa : activist aspirations in straitened circumstances / David Black -- the European Union's external relations with Africa after the Cold War : aspects of continuity and change / Stephen R. Hurt -- The international financial institutions' relations with Africa : insights from the issue of representation and voice / Caroline Thomas -- From Congo to Congo : United Nations peacekeeping in Africa / Adekeye Adebajo.

Download or read book Department for International Development annual report 2007 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-11-15 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Incorporating HCP 936-i, session 2006-07