Regional MPs seek common ground on aid

The chairman of the Eastern Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (EAAPAC) and also Uganda’s PAC Chairperson, Kassiano Wadri, has proposed that the continent finds a common ground on how to deal with conditions that are attached to donor aid. Speaking at the opening of the sixth EAAPAC annual meeting in Kigali yesterday, Wadri called on colleagues to reflect on the need to focus on budget spending by governments, hand-in-hand with the aspect of conditions that development partners attach on aid. “Many of the developing countries do not implement development programmes with resources raised internally...we seek assistance from partners who in most cases respond positively, however this assistance comes with conditions,” said the Ugandan legislator. “It’s our opinion and view that conditions of funding by development partners be taken into account, by coming up with a common ground to ensure that the audit process is done depending on the best practice that we agree on”. The development comes at a time when the continent’s experts believe that the conditions attached to aid are hampering economic growth in Africa. The five day conference has also attracted participants from the Southern Africa Development Community Organisation of Public Accounts Committees (SADCOPAC) and the Western Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC). John Momose Cheyo, from Tanzania, also reiterated the need for financial independence for sustainable development.“The days of financial dependence are now gone because we all read or see what is happening in the euro zone. So, we now have to turn our eyes to absolute use of our national resources,” he said.During the conference, the lawmakers will assess how to build the capacities of regional oversight committees in ensuring accountability and good governance in the use of public funds based on budget formulation and spending processes. Rwanda’s Speaker Rose Mukantabana urged the lawmakers to collaborate against corruption and misuse of public resources. She noted that African countries have abundant resources whose rational use has the potential to lift the people out of poverty, but it is not the case in some areas. “Embezzlement of public funds has been a major hindrance to the development of Africa,” she said. “It is our responsibility, as lawmakers, to prepare a better future for the next generation.”

National

Regional MPs seek common ground on aid