UK defends Ethiopia over allegations of aid misuse
Article
Comments (0)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
October 2, 2011 (ADDIS ABABA) - Andrew Mitchell, the international
development secretary has backed the Ethiopian government, refuting
claims that foreign aid was being used for political oppression in an
interview on 28 September.
JPEG - 10.1 kb
International development secretary, Andrew Mitchell (Getty)
His remarks received strong protest from Human Rights Watch (HRW),
accusing him of being "disingenuous" and "misleading".
A BBC investigation in August revealed that the Ethiopian government
was using billions of dollars intended for long-term development as a
tool to repress its opponents.
According to the investigation, communities who are considered to be
opposition supporters have been denied of food aid, seed and
fertilizer.
Appearing on BBC’s Newsnight, Mitchell argued that British development
aid does not go through the Ethiopian government.
He also said that an on-the-ground investigation into the allegations
indicated “no evidence of the systemic misuse of food aid”.
HRW’s deputy executive director for Europe, Jan Egeland, accused
Mitchell’s department of failing to conduct a serious investigation.
Egeland went on to say that the Ethiopian government is “responsible
for administering and monitoring the largest development programme,
which the British Ambassador to Ethiopia said was budget support in
all but name."
“Your [Mitchell] claim that no British support goes through the
Ethiopian government is disingenuous. The vast majority of British
support to Ethiopia passes through the government,” said Egeland.
To this Mitchell responded, “As I have made clear, the British
government does not agree with all of your assertions nor your
conclusions. We also do not believe the report is methodologically
sound.”
He also expressed his concern that if HRW overstates “criticism in an
unbalanced manner” it will “undermine the vital work” it does in other
parts of the world. The Ethiopian government also refutes the
allegations.
In 2009/2010 Ethiopia was the UK’s third largest recipient of
bilateral assistance (£214 million). In its 2011 report it assessed it
as third in the Needs Effectiveness Index – which takes into account a
country’s need for aid and the quality of its institutional
environments.
The UK announced significant changes to the make up of its aid
programme in March, with a greater emphasis of bi-lateral trade and
security.
(ST)
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD
info" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected].
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
