§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what value for money guarantees he is seeking regarding EU aid spending in Zimbabwe. [165544]
§ Hilary BennAll spending by the European Community is subject to rigorous review, evaluation and audit procedures. The European Court of Auditors is responsible for appropriate audit of EC programmes, including programmes in Zimbabwe.
Concerns about the exchange rate used by the European Commission were raised in a report of the European Court of Auditors. DFID's understanding is that those concerns were limited to part of the spending of the European Development Fund (EOF) that was converted into Zimbabwe dollars during 2002. Humanitarian aid, which is largely funded from the EU budget rather than the EOF, was therefore not affected. Humanitarian aid is in any case very largely used to procure food and other goods outside Zimbabwe and would not be convened into Zimbabwe dollars. The European Commission's view is that use of any other exchange rate would have contravened either Zimbabwean law or the EC's international obligations.