International
UK Development Minister Andrew Mitchell’s First Appearance before Parliamentary Committee
“UK will not balance the books on the backs of the world’s poor”
At his first appearance as Secretary of State before the Parliamentary Select Committee on International Development last week, Andrew Mitchell reiterated the UK Government’s commitment to British foreign aid.
Both Mitchell and the committee of MPs spoke in favour of the coalition government’s decision to ‘ring-fence’ the foreign aid budget from forthcoming public spending cuts. Maintaining the budgetary theme, Mitchell repeatedly highlighted the importance of pushing the Department for International Development (DFID) in a ‘value-for-money’ direction that emphasizes efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of aid. The Secretary of State also discussed planned bilateral and multilateral reviews of all DFID projects and partnerships, as well as the imminent creation of an independent aid watchdog to improve assessment.
Mitchell further asserted that the UK government will meet the commitment of 0.7% GDP dedicated to foreign aid by 2013, and that DFID would particularly focus on tackling conflict-related issues, wealth and job creation efforts, and projects combating malaria and empowering women.
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05/08/2010 at 11:28 am
Yes Mitchell may be keeping the promise to the world’s poor but he has some questionable policies. He’s chasing for Value for Money–but it seems to be value for the UK’s taxpayer with little say for the individuals in the developing world. Second, he’s ending aid to China and Russia and possibiy India, despite the vast amount of poor in those countries. Third, he’s more inclined to use aid to support pirvate sectors without considering the harmful effects of private sector led development–neo-liberal like.