§ 3.17 p.m.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what contribution they have decided to make to the World Bank's Special Fund for Africa.
309§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Young)My Lords, we have undertaken to earmark in close support of the purposes of the World Bank's special assistance facility disbursements of £15 million a year bilateral aid in each of the five years during which the facility will disburse its funds.
Lord OramMy Lords, is not that amount only an indirect support of the World Bank's fund? Are not the Government being parsimonious in relation to this special fund? Do we not compare most unfavourably with the contributions that are forthcoming from France, Germany, Italy, Japan and from others? Are we not very laggard in our international responsibilities in this matter? Moreover, is it not the case that the sum to which the noble Baroness refers is not "new money" being brought froward for this purpose, but comes within the normal budget of the Overseas Development Administration? In view of the terrible situation in sub-Saharan Africa, ought we not to be more generous, just as the British people have proved to be generous in this matter?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, when planning ahead in our aid programme we make special provision to cover such contingencies. This money comes out of the unallocated reserve; so it is a new commitment. In recognition of the terrible situation in Africa, of which we are all aware, the £75 million which has been allocated is a sizeable sum and must be seen against the background of our other aid to Africa.
The Lord Bishop of CarlisleMy Lords, may I ask whether Her Majesty's Government propose that their allocation of £15 million to Ethiopia, to which reference has been made, should be tied or untied to the purchase of British goods and services?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, the sum of £ 15 million, which I quoted, is the support money that we are going to give to the World Bank's special assistance facility. We have of course already given £26 million special assistance to Ethiopia. On the specific point about which the right reverend Prelate asks, we are still considering this.
§ Lord Cledwyn of PenrhosMy Lords, the noble Baroness has had ample notice of the question I am going to ask. How does she reconcile the Government's call for a topping up of IDA with the Government's policy of not helping the World Bank fund in all the circumstances? Is she aware that the Financial Times said this:
The British Government's attitude on this is simply incomprehensible".Will she be good enough to explain the Government's policy?
§ Baroness YoungYes, my Lords, I am aware that the noble Lord, Lord Cledwyn, asked that particular supplementary two days ago. There is no contradiction in our policy. There have in fact been many calls on our aid programme since we offered the money last year for the supplementary financing of IDA. As I indicated, the money that we are giving, the 310 £75 million, is a sizeable sum. It must be seen against a background that in 1983 we gave £240 million in bilateral aid to sub-Saharan African countries. We made a substantial contribution to IDA and the African Development Bank, which also channelled aid to Africa. More recently, we have accepted a commitment of some £740 million as our share of the European Development Fund under the Third Lomé Convention; and some 90 per cent. of that will go to Africa. Also we have given £86.6 million in emergency grant aid to Africa in the current financial year; all this in recognition of the seriousness of the situation.
§ Lord Hatch of LusbyMy Lords, will the noble Baroness answer directly the question put by my noble friend Lord Oram? Is it not the case that the British Government have not given one penny extra outside the ODA's budget, which includes the contingency fund, despite the great need in Africa? Should not the aid of £75 million over five years of which she speaks be compared with the World Bank's original declaration that 6 billion dollars were needed over three years if starvation was to be prevented?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, I have answered the supplementary question which the noble Lord, Lord Oram, asked, by making it quite clear that the money we have given for this facility comes from the unallocated reserve, which is there for precisely this kind of purpose. It is a new commitment. I do not accept, in the context of the figures of the money we are already giving to sub-Saharan countries in Africa, that this is not in itself a sizeable amount of money in recognition of the seriousness of the situation.
§ Lord MerrivaleMy Lords, with regard to the sum of £15 million a year that is to be given over the next five years, can my noble friend the Minister tell the House whether in effect a certain percentage is earmarked for francophone Africa and another percentage earmarked for anglophone Africa? Can she confirm that this fund will be based mainly from the point of view of assisting the poorest countries in Africa?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, the special facility is designed for use in helping governments to make structural changes in their policies. African governments have welcomed it and I believe it will be of particular value to them in their present economic difficulties.