Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh
19 August 2008
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Ghana have called on donors and recipients of aid, which are to attend the upcoming third High Level Forum (HLF) on aid effectiveness in Accra, on September 2-4, this year, to ensure transparency in the implementation of the Paris Declaration (PD) on aid effectiveness.
They observed that the failure of the draft document prepared for the HLF3-Accra Action Agenda (AAA) to incorporate majority of the issues presented by CSOs presents a big credibility gap and a disinterest in actualising the commitments.
They therefore noted that, there is a threat of completely missing the primary goal of aid effectiveness.
Speaking to a group of media practioners at a press conference in Accra on the High Level Forum and the CSOs event, the Convener of Network for Women's Rights (NETRIGHT) on Aid Effectiveness Committee, Madam Hamida Harrison added that gender equality was not explicitly stated in the PD document beyond the passing reference to the need for harmonization effort on crosscutting issues.
She argued that the only true measure of aid effectiveness was its contribution to the support of human rights, democracy, environment sustainability, gender equality and poverty reduction.
In spite of the stated commitment of the PD that these reforms were intended to reduce poverty, the level of poverty among women in Africa had increased greatly, Madam Harrison noted.
According to her, the increased coordination of aid policies by donor countries could erode recipient poor countries' democratic processes.
The Gender Activist indicated that aid funds spent on gender equality issues by various governments in Africa was insignificant to transform the socio-economic development of people, especially women and children.
Madam Harrison lamented that the absence of a definitive framework for integrating gender equality and women organisations continue to be disadvantaged in obtaining resources for their work, adding that governments' full control over aid funds could seriously undermined policies and programmes on gender equality.
Touching on the outcomes of the national consultations by women groups in Ghana, she said there was general lack of awareness and knowledge of the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness and the new modalities. This situation, Madam Harrison observed limits the extent to which citizens could contribute their views and concerns in a process that was supposed to include all stakeholders.
"On the PD, participants were of the view that the document is not very specific on commitments on gender as a core and express issue in aid effectiveness", she added.
Instructively, Ghana will host about 1000 delegates in Accra from all over the world to review and assess progress in the implementation of the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness and to agree on a new agenda for action.
This will be the first opportunity for donors and recipients countries and civil society organisations, to review the progress on the implementation of the Declaration, since it was launched three years ago.
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