President Bush pledged an extra $5 billion in aid for developing nations over the next three years ? but said the money would go only to countries that “walk the hard road” to political and economic stability.
Bush went to the Inter-American Development Bank on Thursday and offered a preview of the ideas he planned to discuss at a global development conference in Monterrey, Mexico next week. He said the $5 billion is outside of existing aid requests; It would be subject to congressional approval.
The president also said the United States would increase the current $500 million U.S. contribution to a global AIDS fund, “as the fund gets organized, develops a strategy and shows success.”
House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., called Bush’s plan vague and said it does little to help the poor because the monies are paid out over three years.
“I urge the president to accelerate the timetable of his development assistance proposal and to provide real resources immediately,” Gephardt said.
World Bank president James Wolfensohn praised the initiative, and noted that the 15-nation European Union also agreed to increase foreign aid contributions.
Making the aid conditional on reform is the best way to economic health, Bush said, noting that the $450 billion the United States pays for in goods and services from developing nations is more than eight times the total aid these countries receive.
“To make progress, we must encourage nations and leaders to walk the hard road of political, legal and economic reform so all their people can benefit,” Bush said.
With a leading proponent of debt relief ? rock star Bono ? at his side, Bush urged development banks to give up to half the money they devote to poor nations in the form of grants, rather than loans “that may never be repaid.”
“Many have rallied to the idea of dropping the debt. I say let’s rally to the idea of stopping the debt,” Bush said.
Bono, leader of the Irish rock band U2, said he intends to keep up the pressure on Bush. “I am the pest” when it comes to helping the world’s poor, he said.
Advocacy groups generally cheered Bush’s announcement, but wondered why Bush chose to spread the funds over three years.
“Why wait?” said Raymond Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, a development agency. “Poverty is a matter of life and death.”
InterAction, an alliance of non-governmental organizations, said Bush’s goal is admirable but could serve to rob the world’s poorest countries of much-needed help if standards for eligibility are set beyond their grasp.
“We must be mindful not to leave behind people in nations that will not meet these criteria. It’s critical for America’s security and for world stability,” said InterAction president Mary McClymont.
Bush also risks appearing arrogant in the eyes of leaders from the poorest parts of the world, said Salih Booker, director of Africa Action, an umbrella organization for African policy groups.
“It suggests a return to an older, imperial order where rich countries dictate the terms of cooperation with poor countries,” Booker said.
The president said he wants to tie aid money to political or economic reform because history has shown that corruption and instability abound when wealthy nations dispense funds without any demands for change.
“When nations refuse to enact sound policies, progress against poverty is nearly impossible,” Bush said. “In these situations, more aid money can actually be counterproductive because it subsidizes bad policies, delays reform and crowds out private investment.”
Bush linked the need for development to grinding poverty and political repression, noting that poverty fed by years of war and chaos helped the Taliban rise to power in Afghanistan (news - web sites). While neediness was not to blame for terrorism, Bush said, it does allow a terrorist mentality to thrive.
“When governments fail to meet the most basic needs of their people, these failed states can become havens for terror,” Bush said. “Development provides the resources to build hope and prosperity, and security.” .”
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