Transparency is key - Duncan
In two speeches this week, Minister of State for International Development Alan Duncan has been explaining where and how British development funding will be delivered over the next four years.
Speaking today at PwC鈥檚 International Development Conference 2011 to a 200-plus strong audience, the Minister set out the importance of transparency for ensuring that aid delivered real and quantifiable results.
鈥淔irstly, it means that UK taxpayers can see where their hard-earned money is going,鈥� he said. 鈥淪econdly, it enables the people for whom the money was intended to check whether it鈥檚 being used properly and to be able to shout if it isn鈥檛.
鈥淒FID is the first aid organisation to publish data to the new international aid transparency standard. We encourage other donors to apply the same level of transparency and, crucially, we have said that we expect no less from those organisations that we fund.鈥�
Yesterday,聽at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Conference, the Minister was also making clear the importance of ensuring value for money for taxpayers鈥� funds, even in the most difficult of places.
鈥淲e work in some of the poorest countries, including countries that are either in - or emerging from - conflict,鈥� he explained. 鈥淲e go in with our eyes open. We assess the risks and we manage them.
鈥淪o we make very careful judgements about the benefits and the risks in deciding how to use taxpayers鈥� money.鈥�