Maravi

Donors await improved accountability from LDCs

Donors await improved accountability from LDCs
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Wed 04 Jan. 2012, 13:25 CAT

KEY donors are still willing to continue helping African countries despite the prolonged eurozone debt crisis but that would depend much on recipient countries improving accountability, says EIF executive director Dorothy Tembo.

Tembo, head of Genève-headquartered Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), a multi-donor programme, which supports LDCs to be more active players in the global trading system by helping them tackle supply-side constraints to trade, admitted that key donors were currently financially stressed by the prolonged eurozone threatening the continued relevance of the European Union.

"The resources are still there. If anything, from our programme, the development partners have clearly said LDCs remain a priority," Tembo said about the programme which operates in 47 LDC countries, the bulk of operations being in Africa.

"The only thing they emphasise, you have LDCs ensuring that the resources that are provided are able to be accounted for in terms of the results that are obtaining; that you can progressively start seeing the impact on the ground in terms of contributing to poverty reduction efforts."

She said although the donor resource envelope had shrunk, the developmental needs of LDCs still remained a high priority.

"You may see a situation where there will be cuts by some countries that have been traditionally providing support," she said.

"That message has been clear to everyone. But within that adjustment, I am convinced the LDCs remain a priority for the development partners because the message they keep coming forward with is that they have challenges themselves. Resources are there, it's more of a challenge on the part of the countries LDCs to be able to utilise these resources in a meaningful way and quite understandably, a number of poor countries at the same time do not have the necessary capacity to be able to develop the projects that would be processed by the EIF board."

Tembo, a former director of foreign trade in the Ministry of Commerce praised the PF government's commitment to EIF programme which was started under the MMD regime.

"We had a very positive exchange with minister commerce minister Robert Sichinga and we are happy that they PF government are absolutely committed to the programme," said Tembo.

Zambia is currently trying to reorganise the national EIF structure, under the tier one, with specific focus on honey collectors from North Western and Central provinces and the dairy sector in Southern Province.

Labels: CORRUPTION, DONORS, TRANSPARANCY

posted by MrK @ 7:58 PM