APPENDIX 13
Memorandum submitted by KPMG
We are delighted to see the new White Paper,
Eliminating World Poverty: Making Globalisation Work for the
Poor, and we welcome the opportunity to comment on it. It
is a very comprehensive and well researched document, and some
sound suggestions are made for achieving the International Development
Targets.
In this letter we first make some general observations
about the White Paper. Secondly, we comment on the digital divide,
particularly given our recent work with the Department for International
Development (DFID) to carry out a study of The Impact of the New
Economy on Poor People. Thirdly, we reflect on governance issues,
because we believe these are particularly critical to the achievement
of the International Development Targets. Finally, we comment
on the commitment to improving the effectiveness of development
assistance.
1. GENERAL
We are very pleased with the UK Government's
increasing commitment to international development, as demonstrated
by the rise in development assistance as a proportion of GNP and
the continual progress towards the UN target for development assistance.
We are impressed with the breadth of the issues covered in the
White Paper and of the resulting policy commitments. We believe
that this White Paper complements the previous White Paper, and
contributes to the global discussion on how to eliminate poverty.
This White Paper is intended to be read in parallel
with the 1997 White Paper and other statements of DFID's objectives
(as represented in the Public Service Agreements, Departmental
Reports, Strategy Papers, etc) and we recognise therefore that
a more comprehensive picture of the UK Government's plans and
priorities can be obtained when all relevant documents are reviewed
together. However, we believe that it would be useful for DFID
to clarify the impact of some of the policies set out in the White
Paper further. It would also be helpful to understand how the
Government will seek to measure the achievement of the objectives.
2. INFORMATION
AND COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGIES
We fully endorse the Prime Minister's statement
in the foreward that "if the poorest countries can be drawn
into the global economy and get increasing access to modern knowledge
and technology, it could lead to a rapid reduction in global poverty".
The White Paper goes on to suggest how development agencies can
help poor countries harness the benefits of the new technologies,
for example through ensuring that international communications-related
agreements are supportive, through smoothing the transition to
more competitive telecommunications sectors and through promotion
of communal access models or pay as you go schemes. The key benefit
of new technologies is sharing skills and knowledge, for example
improving the supply of education and in giving a voice to the
poor.
We believe that the UK Government can play an
influential role in promoting the use of information and communication
technologies (ICTs) to enhance poverty alleviation interventions.
Governments can drive economic and social development by applying
ICTs to improve the delivery of services and by creating an enabling
environment for the utilisation of ICTs by the private sector.
We suggest that DFID's pilot projects could be of two types-developing
an overarching strategy and implementing specific e-enabled solutions-and
that these could take place in parallel.
The first approach involves supporting an assessment
of current "e-readiness" and formulation of a vision,
strategy and action plan for a particular governmentor
region or organisationto enhance achievement of its mission
through enabling technologies. This type of project could even
be coordinated with the process of developing a country's Poverty
Reduction Strategy. During the review, specific recommendations
for utilising ICTs to tackle poverty would be identified for that
country. These might, for example, include:
improving the efficiency of government
services, allowing the re-allocation of scarce resources;
ensuring effectiveness in the delivery
of public services, by facilitating provision of information on
financial performance and the quality of service to citizens;
stimulating private sector development,
and pro-poor economic growth, by providing access to markets,
funding, information, partners and training;
improving access by the poor and
socially disadvantaged to information and services, providing
a means of social empowerment;
establishing or developing transparency,
objectivity and accountability into government procedures to tackle
corruption and enhance good governance;
overcoming obstacles of physical
infrastructure and distances to link up people with shared interests,
to bring the benefit of global knowledge to the poor in developing
countries.
The second approach involves supporting discrete
"e-enabled" solutions, which have been identified because
they are relatively easy to implement and have the potential to
improve significantly the quality of life of the poor. In this
way, success can be demonstrated quickly and powerfully to help
build the business case for further projects. Examples include:
providing communications infrastructure
for poorer communities in rural areas so that they can access
information on markets and public services;
working to improve the legal and
regulatory framework to promote private sector investment;
using ICTs to facilitate specific
development goals in health and education, such as facilitating
teacher training.
We look forward to taking this area of discussion
forward with DFID and governments in developing countries.
3. GOVERNANCE
We believe that good governance is a fundamental
requirement for ensuring that poor people benefit from globalisation.
It is our view that the White Paper should stress the centrality
of governance further; good governance is critical to the provision
of the basic services required to build a country's human capital,
in supporting the development of the private sector, and in addressing
security issues.
The policy commitment to supporting effective
government in the White Paper takes account of the importance
of the justice system, the legal, institutional and regulatory
framework, social policies and resource allocation. We would also
encourage a more explicit recognition that support to governments
is required in order to help them to develop programmes for governance
reform which would embrace, for example, a focus on their core
functions and understanding the potential of the new technologies
to facilitate reform initiatives. This, ideally, could be part
of the Poverty Reduction Strategy process. The UK Government intends,
together with others, to provide support to at least 12 countries
to develop and implement their Poverty Reduction Strategies by
2004. An accelerated programme of assistance for the development
of the Poverty Reduction Strategies would help provide early direction
for development agency interventions.
4. EFFECTIVENESS
OF DEVELOPMENT
ASSISTANCE
We are encouraged by development agencies' commitment
to the Poverty Reduction Strategy process. This should provide
focus and cohesiveness to development assistance. We understand
that the process has been pursued as a result of lessons learned
and that the developing countries have had a significant input
into the design of the process. This will help to ensure their
ownership of the process and the strategies that are developed.
The key will be to include appropriate success criteria. These
Poverty Reduction Strategies will be pivotal in guiding country
and development agency actions; the results of such actions can
then be evaluated in the light of identified and agreed success
criteria.
The UK Government has said it will drive forward
the simplification and harmonisation of development agency procedures
to reduce the burden imposed on developing countries. This is
also very encouraging, and could help to accelerate the provision
of support where and when it is needed. It will be critical to
help developing countries to integrate different tools for directing
development and gaining donor supportfor example, the Dakar
Framework for Action commits countries to develop or strengthen
their own national plans of action by 2002 (an outcome of the
2000 World Education Forum in Dakar). We believe strongly that
these should link with the Poverty Reduction Strategy papers.
John Anderson
Partner, KPMG
January 2001
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