Billions poured into foreign aid by
Britain is doing harm, casting doubt on the PM's pledge to spend 0.7% of
national income on overseas aid
The
billions Britain pours into foreign aid are actually doing harm by
making corruption worse in many parts of the world, a damning report
reveals.
It says projects funded by UK cash are increasing opportunities for bribery.
In
some areas, they are even pushing poor people ‘towards corrupt
practices’. After we spent millions on a scheme to tackle police bribery
in Nigeria, locals said they were even more likely to have to pay
backhanders, the report found.
It
concluded that huge amounts of UK aid money is being wasted because we
are either funding corrupt programmes directly or not doing enough to
tackle the culture of bribery in many countries.
The
findings come just days after it emerged human rights abuses in
Ethiopia – where security forces are accused of burning, torturing and
raping citizens – had got worse during a four-year period when the UK
gave the country more than £1billion.
They
will be hugely embarrassing for David Cameron, who has repeatedly been
forced to defend his controversial commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of
national income on overseas aid despite fierce opposition from his
backbenchers.
The
report was carried out by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact,
the watchdog set up to scrutinise the Department for International
Development.
Giving
DfiD a poor ‘amber-red’ rating, it criticised the fact that only
£22million of its £10.3billion aid budget was targeted specifically at
fighting corruption.
The
study found the department was not ‘up to the challenge’ of tackling
corruption and, in many cases, help was not effectively targeted at the
poor.
In
Nepal, it said the poor were being ‘pushed towards corrupt practices’ by
having to pay bribes or forge documents to receive funding through a
local governance project backed by British aid.
Labour accused Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, of being ‘asleep at the wheel’.
Graham
Ward, chief commissioner at the ICAI, said: ‘We saw very little
evidence that the work DfID is doing to combat corruption is
successfully addressing the impact of corruption as experienced by the
poor.’
The
Coalition has massively increased Britain’s aid budget in recent years
in a bid to plough 0.7 per cent of national income into overseas
development. This happened despite savage cuts to public services at
home and opposition from Tory backbenchers.
The
ICAI report found corruption blights the everyday lives of the very
poorest and thwarts global efforts to lift countries out of poverty. It
said while DfID claims to recognise the need to tackle corruption, it
‘has not delivered an approach equal to the challenge’.
The
study also found the department was often lax in tackling corruption as
it was worried about offending local politicians. ‘DfID’s willingness
to engage in programming that explicitly tackles corruption is often
constrained by political sensitivity,’ it said.
Labour accused Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, of being ‘asleep at the wheel’
‘In
Nigeria, petty corruption touches virtually every aspect of life and is
accepted throughout society as normal and necessary. We heard stories
of parents paying bribes to teachers in order to educate their children;
students paying bribes to administrators to take exams; workers paying
bribes to get jobs and to receive their salaries; and pensioners paying
bribes to receive pensions.’ The report found that in Nepal, there is a
‘growing sense of acceptance of corruption across society’. Where once
bribes were paid out of sight, they are now paid openly.
Britain
gives money direct to the Nepalese government, despite the risk of
corruption.The report said: ‘This degree of engagement with a host
government can be challenging, given the extent to which issues of
corruption touch the government.’
It
added: ‘Very few of DfID’s activities we reviewed in Nepal, Nigeria and
elsewhere explicitly focus on the everyday corruption experienced by
the poor.’
The
report added: ‘Disappointingly, we found that at least one programme
supported by DfID appears to have increased the opportunities for
corruption in society.’
Alison
McGovern, Labour’s spokesman for international development, said: ‘This
damning report should send shockwaves through David Cameron’s
government. Justine Greening should have zero tolerance of corruption –
especially when it is hitting the poorest – but instead the Independent
Commission has found her asleep at the wheel.’
A DfID spokesman said: ‘We have anti-corruption and counter-fraud plans for each country that we give bilateral aid to.
‘Additionally,
DfID funds UK police units and crime agencies to investigate the
proceeds of corruption by foreign officials through the UK.’
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