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>From www.cato.org/dailys/08-25-99.html
> August 25, 1999
>
> Foreign Waste Disguised as Aid
>
> by Doug Bandow
>
>
> Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.
>
> The closer his term comes to an end, the more leftward President Clinton seems
> to move. In a speech before the Veterans of Foreign Wars, he urged Congress to
> approve his bloated foreign aid budget. Yet no one would benefit from throwing
> more money at programs which have consistently failed.
>
> Foreign assistance has always had strong defenders. They believed fistfuls of
> cash could buy political stability, spur social progress and eliminate poverty
> in the Third World.
>
> Alas, this strategy, backed by more than $1 trillion (adjusted for inflation)
> from the United States alone, has crashed and burned. In 1996, the UN declared
> that 70 countries, aid recipients all, were poorer than in 1980. An incredible
> 43 were worse off than in 1970. Chaos, slaughter, poverty and ruin stalked Third
> World states, irrespective of how much foreign assistance they received.
>
> But aid advocates haven't given up. Mr. Clinton told the VFW that current
> programs are "designed to keep our soldiers out of war in the first place."
> Without money for the Balkans, he warned: "Make no mistake - there will be
> another bloody war." It's a superficially appealing argument. Alas, it simply
> isn't true.
>
> Between 1971 and 1994, Haiti received $3.1 billion and Somalia collected $6.2
> billion. Both nations ended up in chaos and under U.S. military occupation. In
> fact, most every country in crisis in recent years banked abundant "aid" over
> the same period. Sierra Leone received $1.8 billion, Liberia $1.8 billion,
> Angola $2.9 billion, Chad $3.3 billion, Burundi $3.4 billion, Rwanda $4.7
> billion, Uganda $5.8 billion, Zaire $8.4 billion, Mozambique $10.5 billion,
> Ethiopia $11.5 billion, and Sudan $13.4 billion.
>
> In no case did peace result. To the contrary, aid often fostered conflict,
> underwriting autocratic, venal dictators who impoverished their nations.
>
> Then there's Bosnia. President Clinton's speech was reported on the same day
> that the New York Times reported the results of an exhaustive international
> investigation of the $5.1 billion in aid provided to that nation since 1995.
>
> This money, too, was intended to prevent the resumption of conflict. Alas,
> reports Chris Hedges: "As much as a billion dollars has disappeared from public
> funds or been stolen from international aid projects through fraud."
>
> Western officials fear even discussing the problem lest it frighten away
> "international donors." As well it should. For instance, in 1999 $200 million
> has simply disappeared from the city of Tuzla's budget, on top of $300 million
> missing over the past two years. Aid agencies and foreign embassies lost $20
> million deposited in one Bosnian bank.
>
> The U.S. Agency for International Development established a $278 million
> revolving fund to jump-start local businesses. Hidrogradnja, one of Bosnia's
> largest firms, failed to repay $1 million in loans. The agency has sued 19
> companies that failed to repay more than $10 million worth of loans.
>
> The investigation was conducted by the anti-fraud unit of the Office of the High
> Representative - essentially the West's dictator in Bosnia. Officials have
> reportedly compiled a 4,000-page report and are investigating 220 cases of
> alleged corruption and fraud.
>
> Not surprisingly, the recipients of aid seem uninterested in prosecuting
> wrongdoers. The High Representative has formally barred 15 miscreants from
> office, but most, reports the Times, retain their influence. Bosnian President
> Alija Izetbegovic dismisses the High Representative's allegations.
>
> Of course, President Izetbegovic's son, Bakir, is reputed to be one of the
> richest men in Bosnia. Bakir Izetbegovic controls Sarajevo's City Development
> Institute, which determines who gets to occupy 80,000 public apartments. Members
> of the ruling party get preferential access, while average Bosnians complain
> they have to pay a $2,000 kickback.
>
> Western officials report that the younger Mr. Izetbegovic shares the extortion
> money extracted by Sarajevo gangsters from local businessmen. He also owns 15
> percent of state-controlled Bosnia Air.
>
> The problem is not just those who are stealing, but those who are paying. James
> Lyon, director of the Crisis Group, complains: "The international administrators
> beg, plead, cajole and in some cases engage in what looks like bribery,
> promising cities infrastructure projects if they allow some refugees to return."
> It should surprise no one if what looks like bribery ends up being treated like
> bribery.
>
> Alas, the experience of Bosnia is all too common. The venality of aid recipients
> such as the Philippines and Zaire was legendary. A new study from the National
> Bureau of Economic Research reports that more corrupt governments tend to
> receive more aid. Even more money will only worsen the problem.
>
> President Clinton evinces the best of intentions in lobbying for his foreign aid
> bill. But 50 years of experience shows foreign assistance to be a bust. It
> should be called foreign waste, not foreign aid.
>
>
>
>
> This piece originally appeared in The Washington Times on August 20, 1999.
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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> © 1999 The Cato Institute
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