Blog Contributor:
Andreas.Huebers
Mar 23rd, 2009 6:54 PM UTC
By Andreas.Huebers
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The Transatlantic Taskforce presented their “Development report” in Berlin, Germany on March 19. ONE Germany’s policy manager, Andreas Hüebers, was there.
The report was presented by a panel consisting of co-chair Jim Kolbe, Michael Hofmann, German executive director at the World Bank as well as Alicia Spoons, a Transatlantic Fellow at the German-Marshall-Fund and contributing author to the report. The panel presented the main findings on the four chapters: development and security/government, climate change, food security, and aid effectiveness.
This was followed by a lively debate that showed that the consensus which the taskforce members had reached among themselves probably also reflects a consensus that the wider development aid community in Germany would subscribe to.
Interestingly many of the participants were from African Embassies, although this was deliberately a purely transatlantic exercise. The idea to broaden it by integrating Chinese and African contributions was discussed. Jim Kolbe said the taskforce will continue to make sure the report has political impact. In this endeavor he wants to be back in Germany next year.
The launch was preceded by a reception for African Ambassadors in Germany and followed by a presentation in the German parliaments development committee.
-Andreas Hüebers
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Feb 12th, 2009 11:32 AM UTC
By Andreas.Huebers
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On January 29, Burundi reached its debt-canceling “completion point”! This is the final stage of the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) which seeks to cancel highly indebted countries’ loans. After a long process, Burundi, a small country in Eastern Africa will now receive irrevocable cancellation of a little less than $ 1 billion in debt. This is composed of $833 million under HIPC and $105 million under the Multilateral Debt initiative (MDRI). MDRI is only accessible to countries that have reached the HIPC-completion point and it complements HIPC, which is basically focused on bilateral debt.
Burundi has improved the quality of its fiscal and debt management. The funds that no longer need to be paid to international financial institutions can now go towards economic and social recovery of the country, which is needed to stabilize its post-conflict society.
-Andreas Huebers
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Feb 2nd, 2009 6:00 PM UTC
By Andreas.Huebers
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As you know, the World Economic Forum was held in Davos last week, and much of it has been widely reported. On Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke. As a German I was excited to hear her announcement that Germany will again increase ODA “significantly” in 2010! But let’s have a more systematic look at what she said. In her speech she described the German reaction on the financial and economic crisis. After describing the national approach (mobilization of € 81 billion as economic stimulus) she added that the German reaction includes a strong international prong. As part of this, 5 elements are important to Germany (but also for the international community):
- Continued support for a market economy: She suggested internationalizing the German model of “social market economy”, which recognizes that the forces of the market are necessary for prosperity, but that these forces need an order, which the government has to guarantee.
- Reform of international organizations: She added that the G8 will not be able to do the job on their own. The new format of the G20, meeting at the Heads of government/state level, is therefore a “formidable development as we move forward”. This includes the lesson that nation states need to transfer sovereignty in some cases – a lesson that EU member states have learned and even other big nations will have to learn.
- Open world economy: This includes a successful end to the Doha-round.
- Sustainable use of natural resources: Especially strong commitments from developed countries in the run up to the Copenhague climate deal.
- Fight against poverty: just as in 2009 Germany will increase ODA “significantly” in 2010. She sketched three consequences if aid were to lose its importance: political instability, a widening development gap in the world, and diminished hopes in those countries that have received our promises in the forms of the MDGs.
As a way forward, Merkel suggested that a G20 “Charta for sustainable economic activity” could be the departing point to establish the “UN Economic Council”. She will meet with Worldbank, IMF, OECD, WTO and ILO in the week of 2 February to discuss the role of international organizations and their division of labour.
She also mentioned that the German “social market economy” can serve as a role model for a globalized world. The following argumentation shows that this would bring Africa into the picture: the basic idea of the social market economy is that the state enables its citizens to be economically productive. This creates wealth. However, a large percentage of Africans currently lack the preconditions to be productive, as they suffer from malnourishments or diseases or lack access to basic education. African enterprises are held back by a lack of energy and infrastructure. An internationalized “social market economy” must therefore encompass a mechanism to create preconditions for productivity. The three elements of such a mechanism are more and better aid, a trade deal for Africa and maintaining sustainable debt levels.
-Andreas Huebers
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Dec 23rd, 2008 1:11 PM UTC
By Andreas.Huebers
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Due to the EU’s reaffirmation earlier this month to reduce CO2-emissions by 20% by 2020, on January 1, 2013, 10,000 E.U. power plants and energy-intensive factories will have to buy certificates for emissions of carbon dioxide.
It’s relevant to African countries in several ways, but particularly because it is likely that implementing this policy will generate extra resources for Africa to adapt to a changed climate and make progress towards the MDGs.
The policy creates a whole new stream of revenues for EU-governments and the tug-of war over how to use these revenues has already started. Usually, Africa is not on the top of the agenda for European politicians when they talk about spending. However in this case, several particularly good arguments support the idea that a significant part of these resources should be spent in Africa.
Most compelling is that African countries have contributed the least to the current climate change, yet they will be hardest hit and are the least prepared. (more…)
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Dec 5th, 2008 5:19 PM UTC
By Andreas.Huebers
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After heading back from the Financing for Development conference in Doha, ONE’s Berlin-based Policy Manager Andreas Huebers pulled together an analysis of what the final outcomes could mean for Africa and other developing countries. Some excerpts of his analysis are below and the full policy brief is available here.
Although the final outcome document from Doha was not as ambitious as ONE had hoped, the “Doha Deal” struck on the last day of the conference does contain some important language on ONE’s core issues and opens the way towards a strengthened follow-up-process for financing the Millennium Development Goals.
Some positive outcomes of the deal include the following:
- Aid promises: Pledges on aid quantity and quality were weakly reaffirmed. The historic commitments made in Gleneagles to increase ODA by $50 billion globally (with $25 billion of that increase dedicated to Africa) were repeated in a contorted way, by welcoming the Hokkaido-Summit declaration that the G8 are “firmly committed to working to fulfill these commitments”.
- Innovative finance: The outcome document mentions existing mechanisms such as Advanced Market Commitments (AMCs), IFFIM and the air ticket tax.
- Trade and investment: The final document recognizes that development assistance can play a catalytic role in mobilizing private flows. On trade, it reaffirms “special and differential treatment” of developing countries and urges countries to reach agreement by the end of the year on modalities for the Doha Development Round of trade negotiations. It also calls for timely and full implementation of aid for trade commitments as a complement (not a substitute) to the conclusion of the Doha Round.
- Tax evasion and capital flight: The outcome document requests that the UN’s Economic and Social Council make a proposal on this issue. The World Bank’s Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) is mentioned in general language and the document calls for additional measures to prevent transfer of stolen assets from developing countries to accounts in the developed countries.
- External debt: The “Doha Deal” mentions a “debt restructuring mechanism based on existing frameworks and principles,” (which can be interpreted as the continuation of the debt negotiations in the creditor-driven Paris Club) and also speaks of “joint responsibility for debt sustainability.”
- Role of developing countries in shaping a global response to the financial crisis: Participants agreed to hold a high-level UN conference in 2009 on the financial crisis and its impact on development. Many other decisions (such as a strengthened follow-up mechanism) were pushed to spring 2009, and a follow-up conference in 2013 is being considered.
- Role of emerging donors: The document includes very general language on South-South cooperation and calls on “new donors” to adhere to principles of aid effectiveness.
The conference was also used to kick off a couple promising new initiatives- the UK launched its Aid-for Trade Strategy and announced that it will spend £400 million annually on aid for trade by 2010. The international task force on innovative financing for health met for the first time and decided to have the next meeting in the spring in London. Germany, Pakistan and the Global Fund also signed a debt2health agreement, through which Germany will cancel $40 million of Pakistan’s debt and Pakistan will contribute $20 million to the Global Fund. Subsequently, the Global Fund will increase their financing of health programs in Pakistan by that amount.
-Andreas Huebers
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Dec 4th, 2008 3:09 PM UTC
By Andreas.Huebers
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Last Friday, the German parliament (the Bundestag) approved its 2009 budget with a $1.1 billion (800 million Euro) increase in development assistance spending for next year.
This is great news and marks the third year in a row that Germany has made impressive increases in development spending. This is an increase of more than 12% since 2008, the largest for any ministry in Germany. We know that this money will make a difference- it can be used, for example, to buy and distribute 180 million insecticide treated bed nets or to supply 5.5 million AIDS-patients with antiretroviral treatment for a whole year.
A substantial portion of the increase (225 million Euro) will be generated through an innovative financing scheme launched by the German government last year. Through this scheme, Co2-certificates are auctioned off to German industry to help pay for development projects. Development funding from this source has almost doubled since 2008- from 120 million to 225 million Euro. Steep increases can be expected in the years ahead. And for the first time, in 2009 these funds can be partly used for development assistance in any sector (as opposed to being fully earmarked for funding climate-related activities like adaptation and mitigation).
This decision pushes Germany a step closer towards fulfilling its aid commitments to the world’s poorest countries. However, increases from Germany and the rest of the G8 will need to accelerate much faster to meet the promises made in 2005 at the Gleneagles summit. Here in Europe, we’re hopeful that President-elect Obama’s commitment to meeting the Millennium Development Goals and doubling foreign assistance will play an exemplary role for Germany and the rest of the EU and inject new momentum into meeting these commitments.
-Andreas Huebers, ONE Germany
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