O'Neill: No new initiatives yet from Africa trip
US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said it is too soon to announce new initiatives for aid to Africa following his 11-day trip to the continent, but he stressed that aid must have clear goals, and donors should delegate responsibilities to local leaders.
O'Neill called for "a combination of clarity and freedom for African leaders in implementation" of development initiatives, in remarks to the Carnegie Endowment for Peace on his recent trip.
O'Neill returned last Friday from his trip to Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, and Ethiopia with U2 lead singer and aid activist Bono.
"It is too soon to announce policy recommendations from the trip, but I certainly learned a great deal," O'Neill said.
The Treasury Secretary said he discovered that aid is working "but there is a long way to go. The progress I saw deserves praise, but it just isn't enough," he said.
Donors need to set "crystal clear, unambiguous, unarguable goals," such as ensuring universal access to clean water, and granting every primary school student his or her own textbook.
He cautioned that donors should not attempt to micro manage development programs from afar, stressing that they should "delegate responsibility to appropriate local leadership."
"It was sometimes shocking to see the disconnect between the aid bureaucracies with their 15-year plans and the availability of more immediate solutions," O'Neill said.
