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| Sunday, 22 December 2002 |
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Features |  |
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Cashing in on foreign aid A critical analysis by Kalyananda Tiranagama Our governments, whether it is blue or green, go after international financial institutions like the WB, IMF and ADB begging for development loans. These loans are often obtained on slavish conditions, sacrificing the national interests of the country and the people. Some of the conditions attached to these loans are of such a nature that no government with a sense of self respect, which values its sovereignty and welfare of its people, can agree. Generations of people have to make enormous sacrifices to pay back these loans. Are these loans really for the development of our country or our people? Are they really beneficial to our people? Are they really necessary? Aren't a few high level bureaucrats at the top end of our financial institutions like the Central Bank and the Ministries taking our politicians and us for a ride? Are they really for the benefit of a few unscrupulous individuals at these institutions? On the other hand, the international financial institutions too are doing business in the name of providing development aid to our countries. Aren't they plundering our economies, our countries and our peoples through this 'aid'? Aren't these development policies imposed on us through their 'developmental aid' really for their own benefit? What right do they have to dictate terms to us, to decide the path of development that we should take, and impose on us the development models they think are best for us? Isn't this a new form of colonialism? These are some of the questions that naturally arise in our minds when we analyze some of these development agreements. According to a recent newspaper the Asian Development Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government Sri Lanka to provide US$ 34.7 million for a Protected Area Management and Wild Life Conservation Project. '51% of the project funds (that is 51% of the 34.7 million US dollars) will not come to this country but will be spent abroad on consultancy fees and for purchase of vehicles and other equipment'. |
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