Based in the UK, Joe writes about corruption and transparency in Africa and climate change. Prior to ONE, Joe worked at Ugandan magazine The Independent, where he set up their news blog and reported on politics and business. He also worked for Saferworld as a human security consultant and Action Aid Uganda as policy adviser on trade and food security.
The foreign aid budget isn’t just at risk in the US — it’s at risk in other countries, too. Take a look at what ONE UK is doing to protect their foreign aid budgets:
In tomorrow’s budget Chancellor George Osborne is expected to announce that every UK taxpayer will receive an annual statement of what their taxes are spent on. For those of us working on the UK aid budget this is welcome news – when asked people tend to vastly overestimate what the UK spends on overseas aid. However, model tax statements published by The Sun and Daily Mail make clear that for people of all income levels less than 1% of their taxes are spent on aid.
Leading business publications the Financial Times and The Economist have recently voiced their support for transparency laws on both sides of the Atlantic that will help reduce corruption in developing countries and increase the resources spent on poverty reduction.
They join the voices of 180,000 ONE members who have called for policy-makers to stand firm against lobbying by a small group of oil and mining companies who want to maintain the secrecy status quo (you can still sign our US and European petitions).
Ask your friends for words they associate with elections in Africa and you’ll likely get a mixed bag of “corrupt,” “violent,” “rigged” or simply “what elections?” It’s a fair bet no one will think to mention the 2008 Ghanaian election in which two presidential candidates fought a hard campaign, ended up separated by just over 40,000 votes, and yet the result was a peaceful transition of power.
The riveting film, “An African Election” takes the audience up close to the campaign, with extraordinary access to the key players as they battle to take over from the retiring President Kufuor. The candidates criss-cross the country for months speaking to huge rallies, and are then forced into a frenetic run-off after the first round fails to yield a clear winner.
Last night UK Prime Minister David Cameron issued a strong defense of UK aid and development policy during his Mansion House speech on foreign policy. In a wide-ranging address on “Foreign Policy in the National Interest” Cameron took on the “pessimists” who have called for Britain to pull back from its aid commitments:
“I believe in the moral argument for aid…that we have obligations to the poorest in the world but I also believe that it is in our national interest. Isn’t it better to help stop countries disintegrating – rather than end up dealing with the consequences for our own country: immigration, asylum, terrorism? Aid can help us avoid crises before they explode into violence, requiring immense military spending. And the answer to the legitimate concern that too much aid money gets wasted – isn’t to walk away. It’s to change the way we do development. By 2015 UK aid will secure schooling for more children than we educate in the UK but at one-fortieth of the cost. And we will help vaccinate more children against preventable diseases than there are people in the whole of England. That’s the kind of aid I believe in…”
The campaign for transparency in the oil, gas, mining and forestry industries was given a big boost today with the publication of European Commission proposals for a new law guaranteeing all company payments to governments will be published. This means Europe will soon have matched (and in some places gone beyond) the landmark transparency amendment by Senators Cardin and Lugar which was passed as part of Dodd-Frank last July. ONE activists played their part in passing that law with calls to Congress -– and now it is going global!
Political momentum increased yesterday for a new transparency law in Europe that would help citizens in poor, but resource-rich, countries. The European Parliament endorsed plans for an EU-wide transparency law to shed light on the payments oil, gas and mining companies make to the governments where they operate. This would empower citizens with the information they need to hold their leaders accountable for money received, and would help governments negotiate fairer deals with extractive industry companies. In both these ways efficiency of public finance would improve, and more resources could be allocated to vital development projects.
Infrastructure and efficient construction may not be the first thing that comes to mind for development campaigners. However, well-built schools, hospitals and roads can give a country the backbone they need for economic growth and poverty alleviation. The scale of Africa’s infrastructure needs make this a vital sector to get right.
Right now, some of the world's biggest oil companies are fighting to keep some of their deals with foreign governments secret. Let's tell big oil we won't be bullied.
Cuts to poverty-fighting programs won't balance the budget, but they will set back progress on Canada's development priorities and risk jeopardizing existing investments.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
Photo credit: PublishWhatYouPay.org
