Tag: World Bank

Ethiopia’s Tekeze Dam fiasco

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(November 28, 2009) The recently completed Tekeze hydroelectric dam in Ethiopia is said to be the largest public works project in Africa. It also could turn in to the biggest blunder with disastrous environmental impact, as the investigative report below tries to illustrate. There is so much secrecy surrounding the project that it is not even clear who really paid for it, although the ruling Woyanne junta claims that it has provided all the funding.

UK taxpayers foot the bill for PR campaigns by foreign aid groups, says UK economic development think-tank

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(October 20, 2009) Stimulus packages aside, the so-called “Great Recession” is forcing government leaders across the world to look for ways to cut back on the cost of public services. No sector, or service, will be spared they say. But Carl Mortishead, writing in The Times, reports there is one government office in the UK that—far from being forced to trim costs—will be given a larger budget: The Department for International Development (DfID), the British government’s foreign aid flagship.

Where has all the money gone?

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(June 2, 2009) A recent article by Lord Aikins Adusei in the Zimbabwe Observer asks some pointed questions of the international aid agencies and developed banks. After nearly 50 years and billions of dollars in loans and grants, he says, Africa remains a poverty-striken continent, rife with corruption and political instability.

The aid industry in Nepal — large budgets, large problems

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(November 26, 2008) The Asian Development Bank, Chinese banks, and Indian firms are using foreign aid to build a mega-dam in Nepal where experts say an earthquake is likely. Nepal’s Federation of Water and Energy Users says the decision bypassed Parliament, violates the constitution and the human rights of Nepalese. Meanwhile, local micro-hydro operators are churning out cheaper, reliable, aid-free power.