Examination of Witnesses (Questions 280
- 282)
TUESDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2007
RT HON
HILARY BENN
MP, MR ELWYN
GRAINGER-JONES,
MR GREG
BRIFFA AND
MR IAN
CURTIS
Q280 Chairman: We are running out
of time, Secretary of State but it does also raise a question
of the extent to which dealing with water resource management
and dealing with the extension of water and sanitation provision
can also help the Poverty Reduction Strategy by creating private
sector capacity within those countries. We saw projects where
local skills were being brought to bear, I think it was Women
for Justice, but she said there were only two local contractors
and if they had more and they were more competitive they could
deliver more. You would be creating a vigorous private sector
helping to deliver capacity in which the public sector, as Mr
Davies said, can use its own ability to contribute, so there are
a lot of different opportunities, if John Battle's point is taken,
to be brought together and which can be seen as a challenge as
well as an opportunity.
Hilary Benn: I agree with that
completely because you need people to dig the boreholes, you need
people to lay the pipes, you need people to be able to maintain
them. If you get more money in and you get the investment, this
also provides economic benefit because it is jobs and income and
better lives for people.
Q281 Chairman: Can I thank you and
your team very much. We will be completing our report over the
next few weeks. I think you will probably gather from the tenor
of the questions we have some challenges that we want to put to
you but I think you appreciate you have got challenges yourself
as well. I hope this will be a report which the Department will
find constructive and useful and, we think, important and timely.
Hilary Benn: I am sure it will
be. I should have said at the beginning that I welcome very much
that you have done this inquiry because, as I hope you have got
a sense from what I have said, this is something that I personally
have been extremely committed to getting DFID as an organisation
to do more, and it would be really helpful to have your view on
how you think we are doing and how you think the international
system is doing and what more can be done to raise the profile.
I would just say in passing that IDC reports always say, "DFID
should be doing more on this, this, this and this," and maybe
one day we will have a report saying, "And here is a list
of things perhaps you can do slightly less on."
Q282 Chairman: We are thinking about
that!
Hilary Benn: Oh, you are thinking
about that. A prioritisation inquiry—that would be a very
interesting session, I look forward to it. Thank you very much.
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