Oxfam Raises Concern that Aid Is Being Diluted in Quality and Quantity

Oxfam is concerned that development cooperation is being diluted in both quantity and in quality to the developing nations.

The organisation’s Executive Director and member of the UN High Level Panel for Women’s Economic Empowerment Mrs. Winnie Byanyima says that the big donor countries need to maintain their levels of aid for purposes of helping developing countries to increase their levels of their sovereignty over their own development.

“Only 0.5 percent of development cooperation is being used for strengthening tax administration,” she says.

“Resources for development cooperation should be used to support our developing countries to tax fairly and own their development processes,” she added.

She cautioned the donors to cease from redefining the aid being given out for fighting poverty to support their own companies. “this is a diversion of the purpose of development cooperation.”

“It is fundamental for the aid to work for development,” said Jaime Atineza, Aid Effectiveness Director Oxfam.

The two were speaking at a media briefing in Nairobi ahead of the Global Partnerships on Effective Development and Cooperation (GPEDC) event to be held in Kenya from 28 November 2016 to 2 December 2016.

The Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation provides a unique platform to advance the effectiveness of development efforts by all actors, to deliver results that are long-lasting and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It supports and ensures accountability for the implementation of shared principles and differentiated commitments at the political level. It contributes to the strengthening of the global partnership for sustainable development.

During this High-Level meeting (HLM), representatives from donor countries and developing countries will meet to discuss the way forward around four areas. First, identifying innovative approaches to sustainable development that can be scaled up, second, providing best practice examples on development effectiveness, third, they will take stock of the implementation of development effectiveness and finally, review the contribution of Global Partnership towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Byanyima noted that Oxfam’s policy brief that articulates on development cooperation shows that only 49 percent of the total aid resource is going through the national systems. “They are side stepping the national institutions. They are not strengthening national systems and we are calling on them to walk the talk.”

“Only 20 percent of the total aid is tied, but when we look at the 80 percent which is not tied, we find out that at least half of it is going back to their companies in reality. This means that is money that is not creating jobs in the developing countries. We are saying untie that aid, walk the talk,” emphasised Byanyima.