Canada has recently announced an increase in spending on foreign aid for the country of Haiti, but that money will come in the form of increased funding for the Canadian International Development Agency [CIDA].
An additional $54.6-million will go into a Haitian hospital and to local police. $65.15-million will go to the Red Cross, the United Nations, and NGOs. This is coming from the existing 2006-11 budget of $555-million for Haitian foreign aid.
The government has also pledged to match the $220-million in aid raised by Canadian donations, following the January 12 earthquake, of which about half has been “earmarked” for various projects.
But how much money has CIDA actually spent on earthquake relief in the wake of its devastation? Unfortunately for Canadians, we have no idea. That’s because CIDA has spent most of the past four months earmarking the donations for disbursement to various NGOs, but one month ago today not a penny had even been spent yet.
It certainly doesn’t engender a great deal of confidence in CIDA.
UPDATE
CIDA responded to me via email, by saying that the first $85 million Canada gave to CIDA went to NGO’s following the Earthquake, which is over and above the $220 million matching fund that Canada promised.
The $65 million announced last week, from the matching fund [Haitian Earthquake Relief Fund], has gone to the following organizations listed here.
Bernard Etzinger, Director General of Communications told me that Minister Bev Oda said that the major Canadian organizations who received the initial $220 million from Canadians directly say that they don’t need more government money immediately, which is why CIDA is waiting:
“In keeping with its mandate to manage Canadian aid effectively, CIDA will disburse funds from the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund in a manner that achieves meaningful and sustainable results. The Government of Haiti has urged all donors to take a measured and coordinated and approach to distributing additional funds.”
In the end all the money will just go to prop up a corrupt authoritarian government. This in the long term will guarantee the continued suffering of the Haitian people.
I guess in this day and age if it feels good do it can be applied to a lot of things.
It is not going well in my poll to adopt Haiti.
I posted we should adopt a country, Gilles gave me the idea.
Have to admit, I’ve never even heard of Turk & Caicos!
Turks and Caicos are a tax haven and much better prospect, but corrupt in a different way.
CIDA is one of the most corrupt and wasteful organizations in Ottawa. When I was there in the 1990s, it was lovingly referred to as “the cesspool” or, more politely, “Quebec’s International Development Agency”.
We’ve got to switch from development aid to investment. The Haitian coffee industry should be a place to start: More Canadian investment and more Canadian imports of Haitian coffee. The first step in building an economy is always agriculture. Lets help Haitians get that sorted before we start building highways and airports.