Can aid alone boost much-needed public service delivery?

Addis Ababa, 1 December - Improved public service delivery in Africa is vital for meeting the Millennium Development Goals. And in principle aid makes more money available for public spending in crucial areas such as health, education and infrastructure. But does it really solve the problem?

Of the eight MDGs, two are related to education, three to health and one to infrastructure. Yet in Africa, although primary school enrolment has increased rapidly, it has not translated into higher completion rates. Likewise, reductions in child mortality and improved access to water and sanitation have been slow.

It's estimated that sub-Saharan Africa needs to triple its health workforce, adding more than a million workers to reach the health-related MDGs. To achieve universal primary education the current stock of teachers has to increase by almost 20 percent each year. So it's not just a question of boosting spending to enhance public service delivery. Improving its efficiency is key.

The pledged increase in aid to Africa at last year's G-8 summit presents a huge challenge for service delivery. Economic experts warn that the quality of aid in terms of predictability, consistency with recipient's priorities and donor coordination is essential. Likewise issues such as freedom of the press to raise awareness, corruption and decentralization must also be tackled if improved public service delivery is to take root.

After a decline in the 1990s, Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) to Africa has been on the rise since 2002, making more funds available for public services. But it also creates significant challenges for recipient countries. Positive outcomes will only result if institutions are in place that will ensure the efficient use of resources. This means increasing accountability for resource allocation. Major current constraints to the public include lack of information about service quality, lack of credibility regarding political promises, and polarization of voters on social and ideological grounds.

One recent trend in public service delivery in Africa is decentralization. While decentralization may lead to greater accountability and better services, there is a strong possibility that the local elite could “hijack” the resources. So, according to experts from the Economic Commission for Africa, decentralization alone is not a panacea. It cannot be regarded as a fast track to “circumvent unresponsive central governments”. “Strengthening institutional capability at the local level is essential if decentralization is to be effective,” the experts noted.

“A relatively high share of aid relative to total government spending also means that these processes are often influenced by donors, a fact that might reduce flexibility,” they added.

A recent World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER) conference on overseas aid held in Finland, noted that although aid targeted to specific sectors might have positive effects, a general increase in assistance might actually trigger government corruption and lack of accountability.

“Overall aid cannot be the only solution for improved service delivery to meet the MDGs, due to its mixed impact,” experts at the conference concluded.

Renowned economics professor William Easterly concurs. “The history of foreign aid shows that big plans at the top do not work without incentives for people at the bottom to deliver the goods and services that help poor people,” he said in a recent paper. “With little accountability to the intended beneficiaries of aid, rich-country officials and poor-country civil servants have weak incentives to get results. “

Stressing the need to resolve the “silent, invisible work of fixing implementation problems at the bottom”, Easterly says the West must focus on meeting people's needs rather than simply giving away large sums.