Jon Lomøy named Director of DCD
Jon Lomøy joined the OECD as Director of the
Development Co-operation Directorate (DCD) in April. He took over from
Richard Carey, who retired from the OECD after 30 years of dedicated work in
the Development Co-operation Directorate.
A Norwegian national, Jon Lomøy has devoted
his professional career to development.
From 1989 to 1996, he held senior positions at the Norwegian Agency for
Development Co-operation (NORAD), where he was responsible for the
management of bilateral development co-operation with Africa. He also
initiated a major reorganisation to decentralise programmes and enhance work
on general policy issues.
From 1996 to 2000, Jon Lomøy was Norway’s
Ambassador to Zambia, where he managed bilateral development programmes on
education and governance, among others. He returned to NORAD from 2001 to
2004 as Director of the Southern Africa Department, where he implemented, in
Malawi, the first country-wide “silent partnership” between Sweden and
Norway. In 2004, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Deputy
Director General of the Department for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the
Middle East; he was responsible for the overall management of the Norwegian
bilateral assistance programme. During this period, he initiated the Oil for
Development Programme; with the World Bank, he also led a review of
multi-donor trust funds in post-conflict countries.
From 2007, Jon Lomøy was Ambassador of Norway
to Tanzania, managing one of Norway’s largest bilateral aid programmes with
a particular focus on translating global policy initiatives – such as
climate change, UN reform and the Partnership for Reduced Maternal and Child
Mortality – into country-level activities.
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Aid effectiveness going South?
When it comes to making headway in development, partners in Southern
countries have much to offer. At a meeting on
South-South Co-operation and Capacity Development, hosted by the
Government of Colombia in Bogota (24-25 March), a task team presented
110 case stories from 133 developing countries, highlighting their
experiences in working together to make aid work.
What is South-South co-operation? In a nutshell, it refers to developing
countries sharing knowledge and experience in a wide range of development
arenas and topics – from budgeting to the provision of infrastructure, to
the promotion of regional or interregional trade. In Bogota, the cases
offered living examples of the lessons that can be gathered from this
experience.
The task team responsible for pulling these stories – and the Bogota event –
together comprises developing countries, donors, civil society, academia,
and regional and multilateral agencies. The next step is to deepen the
learning and analysis of these cases so as to provide sound evidence for
policy recommendations.
The conference offered a vital occasion to discuss the role of developing
countries in building a Southern agenda that can contribute to more
inclusive and effective development partnerships. The meeting also confirmed
the relevance to South-South co-operation of the principles outlined in the
Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action.
The Bogota event brought together more than 400 high-level representatives
from over 150 countries, multilateral and regional organisations, civil
society, parliamentarians and academia. The opening address was delivered by
President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, who stressed “the potential that resides
in exchange of knowledge, experiences and lessons learned among developing
countries, as well as traditional donors, through South-South and Triangular
co-operation.
The event culminated with the presentation of the
Bogota Statement, a set of recommendations on South-South co-operation
designed to promote – in the context of aid effectiveness – more inclusive
and effective development partnerships. This Statement will help to build
momentum in the lead-up to the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness
in Korea in 2011.
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Modernising
multilateralism
For nearly 50 years, the DAC has been a
hub for multilateralism in development co-operation. But as globalisation
advances, the donor community has expanded to include many non-DAC members,
and forms of co-operation have diversified. Russian Federation Deputy Prime
Minister Alexey Kudrin and World Bank President Robert Zoellick have
referred to this broadening of the global development community as an
opportunity to “modernise multilateralism.”
This subject was at the centre of the Moscow
International Conference on New Partnerships in Global Development Finance,
held on 17-18 February. New and long-standing providers of development
assistance, partner countries and a range of multilateral organisations
shared views on the modalities, strategies and motivations behind
development finance.
Conference participants highlighted areas where concrete progress can be
made in boosting effectiveness and co-ordination in development finance. For
instance, sharing information on the role each partner plays enables
financing to be complementary, rather than competitive and fragmented. In
the
Chairman’s Summary, the OECD DAC was invited to share its experience
with development statistics and peer review to help build capacity and
promote peer learning among new development partners.
Participants agreed to take advantage of existing fora, such as the meeting
on South-South co-operation in Bogota (see above article) and other ongoing
aid effectiveness processes that will culminate in the High Level Forum in
Korea in 2011. Participants also encouraged new development partners to join
the OECD-hosted Informal Network of Development Communicators, which
promotes exchange of experiences to strengthen public support for
development co-operation.
Participants recognised that new development partners should be active in
setting the policy framework for multilateral channels. They can help
address pressing concerns on the global development agenda, and identify new
ways of working together to achieve shared objectives – such as the
Millennium Development Goals, the delivery of global public goods, and
effective response to global crises.
More information about the DAC’s engagement with new partners is available
at www.oecd.org/dac/opendoors.
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DAC Senior Level
Meeting (SLM)
The DAC’s evolving role in addressing
current development finance challenges was high on the agenda at the recent
DAC Senior Level Meeting. The DAC is well placed to support greater
coherence in global development financing, in particular through its well
established role of tracking commitments on official development assistance
(ODA) and their fulfilment.
In the future, the DAC will also apply its statistical expertise to help
present a coherent overall picture of development finance flows in general,
and, in particular, how these relate to ODA. Accustomed DAC roles will be
complemented by exploring opportunities to create and promote other flows,
such as private and voluntary flows, private-public engagement and domestic
resources.
The active engagement of new and emerging development partners is essential
to these tasks, and the DAC will draw on the experiences of new development
partners while sharing the lessons from its own experience.
Another item high on the SLM agenda was recovery in Haiti. In a special
session, participants focused on taking stock of the collective response to
date and on efforts to “build back better” (see
February edition
of DACnews). A representative from Haiti, providers of South-South
co-operation, representatives of UNDP, the Inter-American Development Bank,
the World Bank and others took part in these discussions.
Only a week prior to the SLM, the
International Donors’
Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti (UN Headquarters, 31 March)
mobilised considerable financial support – some USD 5.3 billion – for
Haiti’s recovery, reconstruction and development. The preface of the
Action
Plan for National Recovery and Development of Haiti notes: “...as the
Secretary-General of the OECD and the Chairman of the Development Assistance
Committee have pointed out, we must find new ways to co-operate, based on
the principles of the Paris Declaration and those pertaining to operations
in Fragile States, particularly by making the strengthening of the state
central to our action.”
Discussions at the SLM further recognised the need to move away from
emergency action towards key issues such as: ensuring coherence between
short- and long-term objectives; fostering – not undermining – national
leadership; working creatively to overcome capacity deficits; promoting jobs
and growth; and reaching beyond the capital city. The DAC agreed to follow
up with a similar debate in about six months.
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Fragile states speak
up
The participation of the “g7+” group of
fragile states1 in a recent meeting in Dili, East Timor, marked a profound
change in the way development issues are discussed. During a closed-door
session (8 April), the g7+ asserted that failure to break out of vicious
circles of weak government, corruption and conflict may in large part be due
to domestic conditions, but is also a result of the way aid is given.
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The Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, and the Minister of Planning of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Olivier Kamitatu Etsu, at the Dili
International Dialogue, 10 April. |
The g7+ meeting helped set the stage for
the
Dili International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (9-10
April), where participants exchanged experiences on dealing with conflict
and explored methods of developing capable, accountable and responsive
states. "Building capacity is not one-size-fits-all,” said Natty Davis,
Minister of State in Liberia. “States themselves need to begin to define
some of their own priorities.”
Fragile states are the ones falling furthest behind in efforts to meet the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Participants in the
Dili International
Dialogue – including more than 100 delegates from 40 countries, as well as
representatives from the United Nations, the Regional Development Banks, the
World Bank and the OECD – agreed to work together to correct this situation.
They produced the Dili Declaration – A New Vision for Peacebuilding and
Statebuilding, which identifies seven goals as stepping stones to achieve
the MDGs in conflict-affected and fragile states.
The Dili Declaration targets issues such as security and justice, inclusive
economic development, reconciliation, regional stability and government
accountability. It also focuses on very familiar development issues – such
as capacity development, aid delivery, planning processes and political
dialogue – but approaches these from the perspective of fragile states.
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, concluded:
“Walking together, fragile states and their development partners can
minimise the suffering that results from conflict and extreme poverty.”
The Dili International Dialogue was hosted by the Government of Timor-Leste
with support from the OECD-based Secretariat of the International Dialogue
on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding. This unique international partnership
adds a crucial voice in the lead-up to the UN MDG Review Summit in September
2010, and will present concrete deliverables and recommendations to the
fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Korea in late 2011.
(1) The g7+
is an open group of countries experiencing conflict and fragility. It was
established in 2008 and comprises the following countries: Afghanistan,
Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Haiti, Liberia, Nepal, the Solomon Islands, Sierra Leone,
South Sudan and Timor-Leste.
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Feature Article
More effective aid is key to a “Better Ghana”
Effective aid matters to developing countries, as it can enable them to
move beyond aid dependence and reach development effectiveness. Ghana's
Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Hon. Dr. Kwabena Duffuor,
shares
his perspective on how DAC members can help in providing aid more
effectively to ensure Ghana reaches its own development goals, including
achieving middle-income status by 2020.
The Government of Ghana has committed to build a “Better Ghana” for
growth, equity and sustainable development for all. To this end, the 2010
Budget Statement and Economic Policy outlined a programme focused on a
growth and stability framework to reach the country’s development goals.
More effective aid is one of the cornerstones of this framework – without
it, we risk jeopardising the delivery of social programmes that target
poverty reduction on a sustainable basis. The Working Party on Aid
Effectiveness (WP-EFF) and the OECD DAC have a strong role to play in
supporting these efforts.
Aid constitutes an important resource for Ghana. It accounts for almost 20%
of the total annual government budget and 10% of GDP (USD 9.6bn between 2000
and 2008). These external resources have funded various projects/programmes
such as the construction/rehabilitation of roads (highways, feeder roads),
hospitals (regional, district) and schools, as well as potable water systems
at both the regional and district levels, institutional strengthening of key
organisations, including governance institutions – to give a few examples.
There is therefore a strong need to ensure that aid is managed effectively
in line with Paris Declaration commitments, to contribute to the overall
development efforts of the country.
Over the years, Ghana has experienced various challenges that arise from
ineffective aid. They include the country’s inability to plan effectively
because of the unpredictability of aid. There is also the weakening of the
government’s capacity to manage its own development priorities because of
the creation of parallel implementation structures by Development Partners.
On the other hand, there are great opportunities and positive changes in the
way our Development Partners support Ghana’s development goals, particularly
in the context of the Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS) arrangement.
Continuing to strengthen the partnership with our Development Partners is
one of Ghana’s key priorities. The effectiveness of aid will increase by
developing stronger policies of engagement with our Development Partners.
There is the need to be able to hold each other to account for our
commitments. To this end, our Development Partners should try to reduce
transaction costs, consider using our country systems, and improve the
predictability of their funds. Ghana, on its part, will improve domestic
accountability by strengthening the public finance management systems, the
Controller and Accountant-General’s Department and the Audit Service. We
will also initiate regular dialogue on key strategic, technical and policy
issues that will assist in achieving the development goal of
building a “Better Ghana” for all.
The Working Party on Aid Effectiveness (WP-EFF) and the OECD DAC have a key
role to play in supporting Ghana in reaching these goals. The commitments
enshrined in the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action provide
the framework for achieving these goals. With only a few months left until
the Paris Declaration runs its course, it is time to show real progress on
effective aid for development in Ghana.
Ghana is making good progress towards attaining a number of the Paris
Declaration commitments, although in some areas progress is stalling. The
2008 Survey on Monitoring the Paris Declaration shows clearly that Ghana has
increased the quality of its public financial management systems. Despite
this progress, however, the Survey results show a drop to 51% from 62% in
the proportion of aid using country public financial management (PFM)
systems. The Global Partnership on Country Systems, a sub-body of the WP-EFF,
is assisting the country to better understand the reasons for this slippage.
This will assist the country to identify areas where incremental gains in
our efforts to strengthen our country systems (public financial management,
audit, procurement, and others) can be made.
To make Ghana’s Development Partners use its country systems, we are taking
a number of steps to further strengthen the PFM systems. The country is in
the process of setting up the Ghana Integrated Financial Management
Information System (GIFMIS) to improve budget processes and financial
accounting methods. Ghana has also established the Ghana Revenue Authority
through the integration of the three revenue agencies (Customs, Excise and
Preventive Service; Internal Revenue Service and Value Added Tax Service) to
further improve domestic tax and customs policy administration. These two
key initiatives complement the country’s efforts to enhance the procurement
system, as well as audit processes. The sharing of experiences from African
and OECD countries on how to strengthen local institutions, in this regard,
is particularly useful.
In conclusion, it must be stated that, with the support of our Development
Partners, Ghana has made progress in ensuring that aid is more effective in
Ghana. The modest successes the country has achieved in this regard are
vital in helping to build a “Better Ghana” for all. It is only through the
resolve and sustained commitment of the people of Ghana and Ghana’s
Development Partners in tackling the aid challenges that we can restore the
economy to a higher and sustained growth path and eliminate poverty.
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Also in this issue...
News in Brief
G8 Development Ministers Meeting
Accountability
and effectiveness in international assistance were priority issues at the
recent G8 Development Ministers Meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia (26-28
April). The OECD’s Chief Economist and Deputy Secretary-General, Pier Carlo
Padoan, was the lead speaker on this issue, accompanied by Stephen Groff,
Deputy Director of the Development Co-operation Directorate.
At the meeting, OECD was mandated with: reporting on progress and challenges
related to aid predictability in advance of the December 2010 DAC High Level
Meeting; prioritising its work on development outcomes and reporting on the
issue at the next meeting of G8 Development Ministers; and working with
donors to improve the tracking of investments related to maternal and
under-five child health.
Launch of the 2011 Survey on Monitoring the Paris Declaration
The exercise of gathering evidence for the 2011 High Level Forum on Aid
Effectiveness has been launched. The
Working Party on Aid Effectiveness has invited all of the countries that
endorsed the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness to take part in the
third – and final – survey of progress on the targets donors and partner
countries agreed to when they endorsed the Paris Declaration. The 2011
Survey will determine whether these targets – set to be reached by 2010 –
have been met.
OECD and Brookings Institute event: Aid, the Crisis, and the
MDGs
Faced with huge deficits, can donors afford to spend more on aid?
How credible are today’s commitments by donors who have not kept past
promises? These and other questions on the future of aid took centre stage
at a joint OECD-Brookings Institute event in the context of the annual
meetings of the IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee and the
joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee. Kemal Dervis opened the event.
DAC Chair Eckhard Deutscher and DCD Director Jon Lomøy joined Brookings
Senior Fellow Homi Kharas in leading the discussion, which was kicked off
with the presentation of the latest OECD data on
aid levels in 2009 and
projections for 2010. Looking at these figures in the context of
longer-term trends, the group examined how donors can square their
optimistic development commitments with difficult fiscal realities.
Building a coherent approach to evaluating the Haiti earthquake
response
There will be strong pressure to account for the results of the massive
aid efforts currently underway in Haiti. Evaluation of the earthquake
recovery efforts, if done right, can contribute to learning and support
accountability for the results on the ground. On 18-19 May, the
DAC Network on Development Evaluation joined forces with the United
Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) and
Active
Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action
(ALNAP) to ensure a coherent approach to evaluation in Haiti.
First Roundtable on International Support for Elections: Effective
Strategies and Accountability Systems
For electoral assistance to be more effective, the international
community is learning that both technical and political approaches are
needed. At this Roundtable (March 1), speakers from the Electoral
Commissions of Sierra Leone, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo
and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) made concrete
recommendations on ways to improve support for electoral processes and
institutions. Building on collective efforts, the meeting offered a unique
opportunity to raise these discussions to a more strategic level.
Participants developed a set of Draft Strategic Principles for International
Support for Elections. They also agreed on an action plan to refine these
principles so as to integrate them into policy messages and guidance on aid
and domestic accountability.
The Roundtable was organised by the
OECD DAC Governance Network (GOVNET) together with the UN Electoral
Assistance Division, UNDP, the European Commission, the UNDP-EC Task Force
on Electoral Assistance, International IDEA and DFID.
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Publications
Development Co-operation Report 2010
The Development Co-operation Report is the key annual reference
document for statistics and analysis on trends in international aid. The
task of reaching the Millennium Development Goals has become even more
challenging given the economic, food and climate change crises of recent
years. The 2010 report describes how the DAC has responded
swiftly, putting the development dimension of these crises firmly on the
political agenda and keeping the development community focused on providing
more aid, and delivering it more effectively.
Quality Standards for Development Evaluation
The DAC Quality Standards for Development Evaluation provide a
guide to good practice in development evaluation. They are intended to
improve the quality of evaluation processes and products and to facilitate
collaboration. Built through international consensus, the Standards outline
the key quality dimensions for each phase of a typical evaluation process:
defining purpose, planning, designing, implementing, reporting, and learning
from and using evaluation results.
The State’s Legitimacy in Fragile Situations
This report looks at the central role of state legitimacy in transforming
power into authority and providing the basis for rule by consent rather
than by coercion. It specifically focuses on the challenges to state
legitimacy in fragile situations: a lack of legitimacy undermines
constructive relations between the state and society, and thus compounds
fragility; in addition, multiple sources of legitimacy often compete and
conflict, leaving the state unable to impose the ultimate rules of the game.
Other products:
Development Aid at a Glance 2010: Statistics by Region highlights specific features and main trends in aid delivery to
recipient countries as a whole, and to Africa, America, Asia, Europe and
Oceania specifically.
2010 Edition of the OECD International Development Statistics CD-ROM is a unique source of
up-to-date comparative statistics and information on international
development.
Gender Equality Aid at a Glance (2007-2008) focuses on ODA for gender equality and women’s empowerment,
including
coverage of the gender equality policy marker, top ten recipients, and a
breakdown by sector.
GENDERNET Practice Notes bring together
material prepared and published in recent years by members of the
DAC Network on Gender Equality (GENDERNET), providing
readily useable information on how to address gender
equality and women’s empowerment in development co-operation, and how to
integrate a gender equality perspective into a wide range of activities.
Ensuring Fragile
States Are Not Left Behind 2010 presents
salient facts on aid flows to fragile
states, giving specific consideration to the impact of the triple food, fuel
and financial crises and calling for a whole-of-government response.
Evidence from the Ground on the Quality of
International Engagement in Challenging Contexts emerging from the first Monitoring Survey of the Fragile States
Principles highlights the quality of international engagement
across diplomacy, development and security. Based on national consultations with Afghanistan, the Central African
Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Sierra Leone and
Timor-Leste, the results are
published in the form of one Global Report and six Country Reports.
Aid to Environment at a Glance tables and charts (2007-2008)
summarise statistics on the environmental focus of aid extended by each DAC
member, including coverage of the environment marker, top ten recipients, and a breakdown by sector of environment-focused aid.
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