Citizens distrust the aid business
Many people in Pakistan are in trouble. Aid agencies are calling for more public and private donations. In the context of the current crisis in Pakistan a high-ranking staff member of the UN explains in the German weekly Die Zeit the context the complexity and the strategic importance of humanitarian aid as well as the need for global cooperation and for an increase in funding for humanitarian aid. What is really interesting about this, is the number and the kind of reader comments sparked by the relatively uncontroversial article.
Die Zeit is not a tabloid. It is among the most respected newspapers in Germany and its readers have a high likelihood to be well-educated, politically interested citizens. In the case of this article about humanitarian aid the degree of aggression and criticism against development cooperation and international politics is striking. Translate the content of the criticism into development policy terms and you find problems that have long been identified by researchers and donors themselves: lack of „policy coherence“, lack of donor coordination, mismanagement, gender-bias in development cooperation, bad governance. However, the vehemence and the tone of the criticism should make politicians think twice.Despite surveys that suggest most people in the European Union are still supportive of aid, there is clearly a problem. Citizens in Germany distrust the aid business, the policy decisions in development cooperation and its management. How can politicians convince taxpayers to continue and possibly increase funding for development cooperation, if this distrust is not addressed?
A first and crucial step is transparency in aid. If the notion of civil society engagement and democratic participation is to have any meaning, citizens in Germany and in recipient countries need to be able to hold politicians and managers in development cooperation to account. Tell us, where the German government is active, what exactly taxpayer's money is spent on and what the results are. It is not sufficient if the BMZ and other donors simply refer to thick reports and sophisticated studies! Transparent information about development cooperation needs to be easy to find, easy to understand and easy to comment. Transparency has been promised by the German government since the Accra High Level Forum in 2008. We are still waiting!
