Donors

Irish Contribution to Debate

Irish Aid and governance

The increasing importance of governance in the Irish Aid budget is reflected in the tripling of funds allocated to this sector since 2000:

Table 1: Irish Aid Expenditure on Governance 2000-2002

2000	2001	2002
€8,801,000	€15,370,421	€28,211,395

Irish Aid on ‘Why we work with Governments’ We are in the developing world for the long haul; we will not abandon those most in need at the first sign of difficulty" Conor Lenihan

Irish Aid support to Ethiopia Statement by Minister of State Lenihan in response to recent comments by Mr. John O’Shea of GOAL, 07 April 2006

The Trócaire Development Review 2006 addresses the connection between governance and poverty reduction. The Review seeks to explore the link between these two themes both at a theoretical level – exploring the links between the discourses of governance and poverty. It then looks at the issues on a specific level, examining how issues of governance and poverty reduction a re played out in relation to natural re s o u rce management and trade. The articles in the Review draw out some key lessons for development practitioners and policymakers.

2006 Irish Articles on Corruption:

23 May 2006
Irish aid must not nurture Africa’s "plague" of corruption
Irish Examiner

5 Jan 2006
Aid and corruption in Africa John O’Shea
Irish Times, Letter to the editor

26 Jan 2006
Taking action against corrupt regimes
John O’Shea, Irish Times

May 21 2006
Bono urges action on corruption in Africa
Larry Elliott, economics editor

13 November 2006
Review needed of the way Irish Aid is channelled through Ethiopian regime
John O'Shea, published in the Irish Times

15 November 2006
Letter to the Irish Times, 'Irish aid for Ethiopia'

16 November 2006
Letter to the Irish Times, 'Status of Irish aid to Ethiopia'

20 November 2006
Letter to the Irish Times, 'Policy on Irish Aid to Ethiopia'

21 November 2006
Ireland’s aid policy on Ethiopia balanced
Conor Lenihan, published in the Irish Times

24 November 2006
John O’Shea is right on aid policy
David Adams, published in the Irish Times

28 November 2006
Goal founder accuses Lenihan of arrogance over Ethiopian remarks
Deaglán de Bréadún

Other Donors

The United Nations Convention Against Corruption
The new United Nations Convention against Corruption comes at a time when an unprecedented amount of attention is being placed by aid agencies, governments and the United Nations on the problem of corruption. This paper by Ardin Lalui looks at the Convention in the light of this new research. It provides a background to the text of the Convention.

A new report, by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), calls for greater investment to help developing countries tackle corruption and improve governance – the way governments manage to deliver public services to their people. The third annual Global Monitoring Report (GMR) says improved monitoring of the way in which governments deliver public services is vital to cutting poverty in many countries, especially in Africa and Latin America. The 2006 GMR report also calls on donors to deliver on their pledges to boost aid to developing countries. But it says aid needs to be more flexible and better targeted, so developing countries can use the aid dollars to pay recurrent expenses, such as teachers’ and doctors’ salaries.

Wolfowitz Unveils Anti-Corruption Strategy
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz unveiled corruption fighting measures on April 11 2006 that will change the way the Bank designs and approves development projects for poor countries. Wolfowitz said graft was a major impediment to development and the Bank would step up transparency and anti-corruption.

Cleaning up the World Bank
Kick backs, payoffs, bribery, embezzlement, and collusive bidding plague bank-funded projects around the world, a U.S. News analysis shows. The scale of the problem is enormous: Knowledgeable analysts believe corrupt practices of one type or another may be associated with more than 20 percent of the funds disbursed by the bank each year. U.S. News.
Good Governance and Development: A Time For Action, April 11, 2006

World Bank Takes Further Step in Anti-Corruption Fight: Bank Initiates Annual Report Detailing Investigations, February 24, 2005

Annual Report Detailing Investigations into corruption in World Bank financed projects- World Bank (2004).

The IMF and good Governance

"Corruption hurts the poor": MEPs back report on development aid and the fight against corruption Development and cooperation - 08-04-2006 - 15:01

EU parliament debate on Aid effectiveness and corruption in developing countries

Good governance: a core priority in the new EU programming process More so than in past, the EC intends to assess just how serious ACP governments are about implementing nationally agreed governance agendas. Accordingly, more money is likely to be available to support governance reforms. Countries that are reluctant to address governance challenges may expect a rough ride and a reduction of their financial envelope.

Governance and Development: Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee. Brussels, 20 October, 2003.

Development Policy – European Commission suggests pragmatic steps to improve governance in developing countries. Brussels, 24 October, 2003.

"Political Governance, Corruption and the Role of Aid"3rd White Paper Speech Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development- 02 February 2006,Royal African Society, London

International Development: Beyond the White Paper Is a Good Government Agenda Practical? An Approach to Governance, Andrew Goudie, Director, Department for International Development Talk given at ODI, Wednesday 25 March 1998

USAID Fighting Corruption

USAID anticorruption strategy