Challenging Aid in Africa: Principles, Implementation, and Impact

266 Pages·2006·56.764 MB·English

by  NA NA

CHALLENGING AID IN AFRICA

ZOE MARRIAGE
Challenging Aid
in Africa
Principles, Implementation, and
Impact
palgrave
macmillan
*
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2006978-1-4039-7631-4
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First published 2006 by C. Hurst & Co. (Publishers) Ltd.
First published in the United States in 2006 by
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ISBN 978-1-349-73792-5 ISBN 978-1-349-73790-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-73790-1
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Transferred to Digital Printing 2011.
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Surprise struck nine hours into my first research trip to Africa
when on a Friday night I found myself in Guinea, which was
not where I thought I was going. Stranded for the weekend,
I had a drink with Ishmael-like the angel, he mentioned
slightly alarmed that I had got lost so quickly.
Challenging Aid in Africa is an investigation into why
aid organisations espouse the objectives of humanitarian
principles and human rights. It reports ~:m assistance
in four African countries at war, all of which I visited in
the course of writing this book. The book investigates how
assistance is formulated and delivered through international
NQn-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in violent con
texts, to whom it is given, and how it is justified and sustained.
It also traces assistance from donor and NGO policy to imple
mentation and how it is received. The word 'game' is used to
signifY that assistance has an arena, players and rules; an anal
ogy that allows for elaboration through the book. 1 I take the
rules to be the products of donor and NGO interests and con
ferences, rather than objective benchmarks. This is a precarious
line as rights and principles assume differing meanings: the same
words are used to describe something that happens, some
thing that should happen, and something that does not hap
pen. The assertion that everyone has a right to food is made
most often about children who do not have any. I am not
questioning whether children need food, I am asking what is
gained and for whom by saying they have the right to it, or
saying that it is provided impartially, when they have none.
Central to the methodology is the journey I made through
the countries. Consequently, in presenting my findings I intro
duce places and relay discussions; spoken excerpts are from inter-
v
Priface and Acknowledgements
VI
views, unless otherwise indicated. I interviewed more than
150 aid agency office and implementation staff, and conducted
around 300 interviews with people in the countries I visited
including (amongst others) politicians, people living in camps
and others who were displaced, militias and demobilised fight
ers. Generally, if the interviewee's name is not relevant to the
argument, I record only the place and date. When reporting
dialogues the interviewee's initial is used and 'I present myself
as 'Z'.
I have experienced immense generosity during this enquiry.
I am grateful to David Keen for his guidance and inspiration,
and to Christopher Cramer, Alex de Waal and Tania Kaiser
for their profound influence and very welcome advice.
Thanks go to Teddy Brett and Tim Allen for encouragirtg
this research and to the Economic Social Research Council
for funding it. I am also appreciative of the collaboration of
Oxfam staff in the UK and overseas. I received phenomenal
support whilst abroad. Returning from a day motorcycling
round the moonscapes of southern Sierra Leone my co-rider
observed it was 'a wonder time', which was exactly right. Many
thanks to many people for insights, lifts, laughs and safety. Spe
cific thanks to Liz Hughes, Claire Light, Legacy Sankoh and
Victor Kalie Kamara in Sierra Leone. In Congo, thanks to
Armand for his humour and sense oflife. In Sudan and Kenya,
I am grateful for time, knowledge and direction from John
Ryle, Philip Winter, Roberto, Sam Nyika, Margaret Scopas,
Matthew Erneo, Mario Deng Bol, Nina Seres, Pamela Wasonga,
Anthony Wani, Steve Ngugi and Amos Maganga.
Particular gratitude goes to Alexis R wabizambuga,Jok Madut
Jok,Joseph Vandy, K wabena Larbi and Philippa Atkinson who
have taught me a great deal about several corners of Africa. In
the UK I am thankful to Drusilla Daley, Rachel Wrangham,
Sue Redgrave and Thi Minh Ngo, and away from the book,
huge thanks and love to my parents, my housemates and some
wonderful friends.
London, April 2006 ZOE MARRIAGE
CONTENTS
Priface and acknowledgements page v
Acronyms and abbreviations
Xl
1. Some Surprises and No Referee 1
Players 3
The rules 4
How does it work? 6
Organisation if the book 10
2. DFID: a New Humanitarianism 14
What DFID says 14
What DFID does 17
Sierra Leone 18
Rwanda 27
Congo 36
Southern Sudan 42
What DFID achieves 47
Defines good 48
Reaches targets 50
Different questions, same responses 52
3. N GOs (Part I): Sierra Leone and Rwanda 53
Sierra Leone 54
Freetown 57
- Displacement 57
Port Loko 61
- Camps 62
Bo 66
- Service provision 67
Vll
Contents
Vll1
Rwanda 71
Kigali 75
-Peace 75
Ruhengeri 81
- Resettlement 82
Umutara 86
- Neutral progress 87
Achievements, but not according to objectives 93
4. NGOs (Part II): Congo and Southern Sudan 95
Congo 97
Kinshasa 100
- Health and disarray 101
Goma 106
- Lobbying 107
Bukavu 112
- Targeting 113
Southern Sudan 118
Kotobi 122
- Sustainability 123
Agangrial 127
- More sustainability 127
Lankien 132
- Impartiality 133
Guidance lacking 137
5. Breaking the Rules 139
Southern Sudan 140
Solutions rejected 141
'Memorandum of mis-Understanding' 144
Congo 148
Unregulated violence 149
Intransigence 154
Rwanda 157
Riftned rules 158
Bullying 161
Contents
IX
Sierra Leone 165
'Brutal war' 165
Harassment/development 167
Legitimacy 170
Another strategy 173
6. The Game 175
Mo gets assistance, and why? 177
The politically backward 177
Victims if moral outrage 183
How and why is assistance sustained? 186
Fabricated clarity 188
- How:fantasy 189
- My: incentives 196
Tactical confusion 198
- How: unrestrained action 199
- My: restrained thought 204
The Score 206
7. Conclusions 208
Not breaking the rules, not playing the game 210
Implications for practice 217
Plan B, NCO assistance and withdrawal 219
- Plausibility 220
- Commitment 222
Congo rules 224
PlanA 224
Notes 229
Bibliography 235
Index 248