Don't get me wrong I think that Oxfam do a lot of good work but I think they need to make sure that their own house is in order before they have a go at others.
They have taken the EU to task for bank charges incurred in transferring money to the Palestinians. More than €3m (£2m) of EU aid for Palestinians was spent on bank charges last year in an effort to bypass the Hamas-run government, Oxfam said yesterday. The money was spent between August and December under the temporary international mechanism, a system run by the European commission that delivers directly to Palestinians and avoids supporting the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.
Oxfam described the mechanism as an "aid fiasco" and said it should be scrapped. But the EC said it was the "most direct and most efficient" means of delivery.
Fair enough you might think except for the fact that there was a piece on the BBC back in June 2005 stating that Oxfam had paid $1m to the Sri Lankan government to allow its vehicles into the country to help with the relief effort after the Tsunami! That's another Aid Fiasco that should be scrapped.
Showing posts with label Aid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aid. Show all posts
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
The true cost of delivering aid
About eighteen months ago I remember being scandalised by the suggestion that Oxfam should pay tax to the Sri Lankan government to enable them to get 25 four wheel drive vehicles released from the docks in Columbo to assist with Oxfams aid relief effort following the tsunami. In the end it transpired that Oxfam had to pay the Sri Lankan government $1m in import duty for the vehicles used in the tsunami reconstruction.
Now a similar scenario is unfolding in Aceh in Indonesia. The Indonesian government is imposing a tax on the use of millions of dollars of aid contributions. The government is claiming that NGOs need to pay a 10% value added tax on donations used to pay sub contractors for reconstruction and other relief effort. USAID has received a tax bill for $10m for a project where it is rebuilding the highway down the western coast of Aceh. Another American NGO has received a 10% tax bill on a $1.5m project to build a school in Aceh and the project is now under threat due to a shortfall in funds.
Where is the incentive for NGOs to step in and help if when disaster strike the governments of those countries affected turn round and bite the hand that feeds them. The NGOs will of course do their best help when these disasters strike regardless of the politics or the attempt to tax their aid but what about those who fund the NGOs. They will not continually dip into their pockets to provide funds that just disappear into the national coffers of the affected nations without ever going near those the money was intended to help. If the UN wants to do something useful how about getting all nations to agree not to tax those who come to help them when they are afflicted by some disaster.
Now a similar scenario is unfolding in Aceh in Indonesia. The Indonesian government is imposing a tax on the use of millions of dollars of aid contributions. The government is claiming that NGOs need to pay a 10% value added tax on donations used to pay sub contractors for reconstruction and other relief effort. USAID has received a tax bill for $10m for a project where it is rebuilding the highway down the western coast of Aceh. Another American NGO has received a 10% tax bill on a $1.5m project to build a school in Aceh and the project is now under threat due to a shortfall in funds.
Where is the incentive for NGOs to step in and help if when disaster strike the governments of those countries affected turn round and bite the hand that feeds them. The NGOs will of course do their best help when these disasters strike regardless of the politics or the attempt to tax their aid but what about those who fund the NGOs. They will not continually dip into their pockets to provide funds that just disappear into the national coffers of the affected nations without ever going near those the money was intended to help. If the UN wants to do something useful how about getting all nations to agree not to tax those who come to help them when they are afflicted by some disaster.
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