Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 19 Jun 2001

Vol. 538 No. 3

Written Answers. - Foreign Aid.

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

87 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the investigations his Department is undertaking into allegations that Irish Aid moneys intended for parts of Tanzania may have been siphoned off or embezzled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17787/01]

Nora Owen

Ceist:

90 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on recent allegations that some Irish Aid moneys have been corruptly used; and the steps which have been taken to ensure accountability of all funds spent on development aid projects. [17775/01]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Cowen)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 87 and 90 together.

First, I refer the Deputies to the reply I have given to the priority question on the same matter, the text of which was as follows. The reports to which the Deputy is referring relate to our programme in Kilosa in Tanzania. The facts of the matter are these. Our head of mission at our embassy in Dar-es-Salaam was advised that our monitoring and accounting systems were indicating that an amount of funds provided to our area based programme in Kilosa in Tanzania was not properly accounted for. He ordered an independent investigation which verified insufficient accounting for some procurements and tenders, the total of which could reach £50,000. I should mention that our total programme in Tanzania this year is £13.5 million.

On receipt of the results of the investigation, the head of mission went to Kilosa where he laid the information before a public session of the Kilosa District Council and demanded immediate action. His statement was picked up by the local media which presented it as the proper assertive approach for a donor friend of Tanzania to take. This was taken up in turn by the national media which took a similar line. This is the source of the information picked up in Ireland by a Sunday newspaper.

The current position is that six senior officials have been suspended and that a police investigation has been initiated with a view to bringing charges against those suspected of corruption. The responsible Tanzanian Government Minister is engaged on the matter and determined to see a full and thorough investigation. Our main focus is to seek to have the funds properly accounted for. If funds are indeed proven to be missing, we do also have the option of off-setting such an amount against further assistance.

The important point to make is that our oversight systems do work, even in an environment like Kilosa, where poverty and weak governance are features. The Deputy will, I think, further appreciate that in pursuing this matter in so public a manner we are determined to demonstrate not only that these systems work but that they are seen to work.

However, the reality of development aid is that the environment in which all aid programmes operate is one where the issues of good governance and responsible public administration are themselves development issues. It is a fact that weakness in these areas is always present where there is poverty. Within Ireland Aid every effort is made to put in place systems to guard against malfeasance. For example, in the six priority countries in Africa, where the greater part of bilateral assistance is concentrated, the six missions together with all of the accounts under their control are subject to annual external audit by reputable international accounting firms. Additionally, where there are area based programmes, like those in Kilosa, and sector support programmes in the country programmes in these priority countries, they too are subject to annual audit. There are qualified accounting staff in all of the missions in the priority countries. In two of the countries, where there are sizeable programmes, there is a second accountant.

Overall it is important to note that appropriate monitoring and accountability mechanisms are in place; the issues of governance and accountability are central to our dialogue with our partner Governments in Africa; where incidents of this kind occur, proper action is taken, lessons are learned and new precedents set; and that we work closely on all issues of development co-operation, including accountability, with other bilateral and multilateral donors.