Is it really “aid” if it goes to relatively wealthy nations?

Posted by Elise Hilton

Alan Duncan, an aid minister in the UK, says his government is "forced" to hand over large amounts of money to the EU's foreign aid budget, but has no say in how the money is spent. The problem is that much of the $2 billion+ "aid" money (one-sixth of the British budget) goes to projects such as making a Moroccan water park more eco-friendly, an art project in St. Petersburg, and building a hotel and leisure complex in Barbados. Britain's International Development Committee reports that only 46% of the "development" donations go to "low-income" nations.

Some are urging that the British government "redefine their official development assistance (ODA), through which the relevant EU aid is spent", with the British Development Committee warning that the situation will "devalue" the concept of aid in the eyes of its citizens.

Oxfam policy adviser Claire Godfrey stated, "If aid is not about helping the poorest then it is not worthy of the name." Peter Bone, a Tory, had this to say about the money given to wealthier nations:

The Government has been saying for the past two years that this money’s been spent brilliantly. Alan Duncan is right to say the money is being wasted, but wrong to say there’s nothing we can do about it. There is: all you have to do is stop paying the money. It’s no good just crying crocodile tears about wasted money. If we stop paying, what will the EU do: sue us for not funding water parks in Morocco? Come on!

It is good to recall what Robert Woodson, a poverty activist in the U.S. has said about this type of situation:

There is a poverty industrial complex. You’ve got huge numbers of people who profit off our differences. You see, if you are problem oriented, you can write about the problem, you can lecture about the problem, you can consult on the problem. You can do everything but solve the problem.

Clearly, some in the British government are becoming aware of the fact that transparency, accountability, and outcome are absolute necessities in foreign aid and transferring money from one government to another. It remains to be seen if the UK government will take action, or will write, lecture and consult.

Read "EU Squanders Our Aid Millions" and "Most EU aid 'goes to richer nations' ".