Pinda urges the rich to keep aid promises

The Farmer · 2009-02-28T12:37:28+00:00

Pinda urges the rich to keep aid promises 2009-02-28 11:28:29 By Special Correspondent, Dublin Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda has asked Ireland and other development partners to fulfil their commitments of assistance to poor countries despite the world financial crisis. In an address at the University College of Dublin on Thursday, he said failure to fulfil the commitments would widen disparity in human development between the rich and the poor in the inter-dependent world. He said in Tanzania there was a Kiswahili proverb which literally states: `If you don`t fill up a crack on the wall in time, you will end up building a new wall`. ``The global financial crisis should not deter Ireland and other development partners from fulfilling commitments of development assistance to our countries,`` he said. He added that as the world was today becoming closely interconnected and networked and the fact that development partners had gone a long way to fill the cracks of disparity in development, it would be inconceivable if the same cracks would be allowed to widen again because of the global financial crisis. ``It is important for everyone to be aware of what is happening in other parts of the world, be involved in finding solutions to poverty and hunger and other issues confronting the world,`` he added. He quoted former British Prime Minister Tony Blair who, after surveying the level of poverty across Africa, said: ``Such poverty amidst so much wealth in the world we share is a scar on the conscience of rich industrialised countries``. Ireland is Tanzania`s leading development partners and its aid programme is concentrated on agriculture, health, governance and general budget support. But Premier Pinda also challenged the University of Dublin when he posed the question: ``To what extent are academics within this university aware of the Millennium Development Goals?`` He posed another question: ``To what extent does the curriculum, either by accident or design, contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals?`` He posed yet another: ``How can the curriculum be developed to further embed the concept of sustainable development and global citizenship and thus enhance the university`s contribution to achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals?`` The Premier yesterday met with Irish Foreign Affairs minister Michael Martin and Agriculture, Fisheries and Food minister Brendan Smith. He was also scheduled to visit the Ashton Food Research Centre and the Digital Exchange Building, which houses the Digital hub: the Dublin Institute of Technology. He was thereafter expected to meet with Tanzanians living here. Some development partners have already said the on-going financial crisis will not affect aid flow to Africa and Tanzania in particular. They include Japan, the United States and Belgium. Belgian Development Cooperation minister Charles Michel gave assurance that its development package to Tanzania won`t be affected, and on the same day, he and Finance and Economic Affairs minister, Mustafa Mkulo signed a new Indicative Development Cooperation Programme. * SOURCE: Guardian

Thread starter The Farmer
Start date Feb 28, 2009

The Farmer

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Pinda urges the rich to keep aid promises

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