TI expresses misgivings about outcome of forum

Koforidua, Sept. 9, GNA - Global anti-corruption

campaigner, Transparency International (TI), has expressed

misgivings about the outcome of the just-ended Accra High

Level Forum on aid effectiveness, cautioning that the lack of

progress on key indicators threatens to undermine aid as an

effective tool in promoting development. A release by Mr Craig Fagan, Senior Policy Coordinator of

the TI, said the conference fell short of pre-forum expectations

and that it ended without firm anti-corruption commitments. "The lack of progress threatens to undermine aid as an

effective tool for supplying medicines to clinics, building

schools and attacking the roots of extreme poverty, which

continue to plague more than 1.4 billion people around the

world". He said despite the stated support by many attendees for aid

transparency and accountability, the forum's communiqu=E9, "fell

short on specific timelines and concrete commitments to

increase accountability and transparency in the development

process". Citing statistics that indicate that more than 148 billion dollars

is lost annually to corruption in Africa, the TI is demanding

time-bound commitments on accountability, transparency and

corruption at subsequent meetings to make aid more effective. It urged civil society groups to take advantage of upcoming

UN Millennium Development Goals review meeting schedule for

New York this month to make their concerns heard. Ministers and officials from more than 100 countries that

give and receive aid, along with leaders of humanitarian, lending

and relief agencies, attended the conference, which aimed at

improving the delivery of development assistance Critics say that the effectiveness of more than 100 billion

dollars of international aid that is channelled to the developing

world each year is often undermined and obstructed by

bureaucratic bottlenecks, delays, overlapping and political

interests. Concerns about corruption and the squandering of aid

funds, especially in weak states in Africa, have also triggered

debate about how much donor governments should try to

maintain control and oversight over their aid programmes. Recipient countries insist aid must follow their own

development strategies. Last year, total global official aid flows amounted to 104

billion dollars.