The development debate: Good governance is an integral part of Ireland's approach to development, writes Tom Kitt
The presence of corruption in the countries in which we operate is one of the biggest challenges faced by our development co-operation programme. Poverty generates corruption, the desperation of the former making the latter inevitable.
The battle against corruption and the promotion of better government - what we call good governance - is an integral part of our work. If we are serious about trying to promote sustainable development, then the presence of corruption cannot be ignored.
The key to tackling corruption is to help people to do things for themselves, to see the corrosive nature of corruption and to empower them to do something about it.
In all of the countries where the Irish Government's programme is concentrated, we promote a government system that is responsive, representative and responsible. We do this by supporting a fair electoral system, the development of sound institutions of government, of an effective and answerable public service and of respect for rights.
In South Africa, Lesotho, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, Ethiopia and East Timor, Development Co-operation Ireland (DCI) has been involved in voter education, voter registration and election monitoring.
Local government, where there is significant procurement, is a key battleground in the war on corruption. In Uganda, Mozambique and Tanzania, where decentralisation is well advanced, DCI supports local authorities to deliver improved services and works to empower local communities to demand these improved services. A simple example, which I saw when I visited Uganda recently, was the posting outside schools and clinics of the development aid allocation for the year. The knowledge of how much money had been provided created its own pressure from the community for a full accounting and for value for money.
Investing in development is not without risk: we are constantly vigilant that Irish taxpayers' money is not misused. A strong commitment to development comes with a realistic understanding of the difficult environment in which we operate. Sustainable development requires strong safeguards to protect donor funds. Ireland (DCI) has systems for accounting for funds expended and for measuring their impact. This is achieved by annual external audit and frequent internal audit of programme funds, together with a stringent monitoring system backed by a rigorous evaluation system.
While in Uganda, I decided that we should build on existing safeguards by channelling funds to a special poverty action fund which concentrates on health education and other key sectors. This tight focus ensures that our money is fully protected and used only for the purposes for which it is intended.
Meeting a challenge like embedded corruption requires sustained engagement. We cannot expect to eradicate abuses in government services without supporting public service reform. We cannot expect people to challenge established practices without empowering them to speak out and educating their children to know differently. We cannot contribute to change without engaging with partner governments and using the leverage of our development work to influence major change. Our goal is to lift people out of extreme poverty. This requires a broad-based approach both directly on the ground and also through a deep engagement with global issues such as trade, investment and debt relief, which have a profound influence on the ability of developing countries to achieve economic and social progress.
In the area of trade, I have been working with the Ministers for Trade and Agriculture to ensure that the implications for development of our national position on trade in the WTO negotiations are fully taken into account. As a former minister of State for trade, I participated in WTO ministerial meetings in Seattle and Doha and am fully aware of how important issues such as export subsidies, trade distorting domestic support, market access and intellectual property rights are for developing countries.
DCI is implementing a comprehensive and coherent approach to the trade interests of our developing country partners which deals not only with the difficult issue of export subsides, but also with equally important trade matters such as helping poor countries develop their national capacity to avail of the immense trade opportunities which already exist. We are, for example, providing funding to the International Trade Centre for a programme which will help furniture manufactures in two extremely poor provinces in Mozambique break into the European market.
I emphatically reject the suggestion, made in these columns on Monday, that Ireland "opposed free and fair trade for Africa". The reverse is the truth. In February 2001, we were centrally involved in the decision by the EU Council of Ministers to adopt the so-called "Everything But Arms" initiative. This has completely opened the EU market to all products, except armaments, duty- and quota-free. from the 49 poorest countries in the world, with transition periods for rice, sugar and bananas. No other major trading bloc has adopted such an open approach to trade with poor countries.
I also reject the suggestion that our position on debt relief is motivated by the fact that we "have nothing at stake". While Ireland is not owed money by developing countries, we have to date contributed over €20 million in support of debt relief in the poorest countries. We therefore have every right to support calls for a re-examination of the current international debt relief initiative, and for debt cancellation for countries that are well governed and committed to sound economic management.
Reducing poverty, combating corruption and building on good government requires patience and determination from all sides. In Ireland, we know that this transition does not happen overnight. In our case, the move from Daniel O'Connell's mass meetings to reliable democratic systems took the best part of a century. In many countries in Africa, significant progress has been made in a far shorter time.
For more information on the work of Development Co-operation Ireland: www.dci.gov.ie
Tom Kitt TD is Minister of State for Development Co-operation