UK Aid Body 'Not Doing Enough' To Tackle Corruption

U.K. international aid organization the Department for International Development is not doing enough to tackle corruption experienced during its development work abroad, according to a watchdog's report.



The Independent Commission for Aid Impact said in a report published on Friday that the government's Department for International Development, or DFID, recognized corruption was a critical development challenge, but had not "developed an approach equal to the challenge, nor has it focused its efforts sufficiently on the poor".



The report said that there were "limited achievements," but little evidence of "impact on corruption levels or in meeting the particular needs of the poor".



Graham Ward, Chief Commissioner, said:  "We saw very little evidence that the work DFID is doing to combat corruption is successfully addressing the impact of corruption as experienced by the poor."



"Indeed, there is little indication that DFID has sought to address the forms of corruption that most directly affect the poor: so called 'petty' corruption. This is a gap in DFID's programming that needs to be filled," he stated.



Corruption investigated



The report documented cases where people abroad had reported having to pay bribes in order to receive DFID funding and said U.K. police were investigation 25 cases of corruption.



"We heard about citizens needing to pay bribes to government officials or to forge documentation in order to receive funding for projects supported by the LGCDP [Local Governance and Community Development Programme in Nepal]."



The department, which has an annual budget of £10.3 billion ($16.5 billion), was given several recommendations by the commission on how to tackle corruption.



A DFID spokeswoman told the Anadolu Agency: "The ICAI's report rightly highlights some of DFID's work which reflects our zero tolerance approach to fraud and corruption. We have anti-corruption and counter fraud plans for each country that we give bilateral aid to."



She said the plans "are based on a common principle that tackles the root causes of corruption by building strong institutions and requiring good governance".



"Additionally, DFID funds U.K. police units and crime agencies to investigate the proceeds of corruption by foreign officials through the UK," she added.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Greater London