Introduction
On 30 November 2012, the Secretary of State for International
Development, Justine Greening, issued a Written Ministerial Statement
(WMS) to Parliament announcing the decision that the UK would
not be releasing £21million in general budget support to
the Government of Rwanda. The payment was scheduled for December
and would have been the second (of two) general budget support
payments for the financial year 2012-13. The first payment was
made in September, of which half was paid as general budget support
and half reprogrammed into specific sectors.
In making this decision, the Secretary of State for
International Development conducted an in-depth analysis of the
available evidence about Rwanda's commitment to and performance
against all four of the UK Government's Partnership Principles
, including the three conditions set out by the Prime Minister
that formed part of the overall assessment of commitment to those
Partnership Principles.
This analysis included the UN Group of Experts' Report,
published in November. It also included a wide range of evidence
from and dialogue with other Governmental Departments, other donors,
the NGO community, including human rights organisations, and the
Government of Rwanda. The IDC inquiry provided a further opportunity
to reflect on the available evidence and consider the best way
forward.
On the 23 November, the Foreign Secretary and the
Secretary of State for International Development released a joint
statement stating that they found the evidence concerning Rwanda's
involvement in eastern DRC appeared to be 'credible and compelling.'
This clearly constituted a breach of the Partnership Principles,
which underpins general budget support, and therefore resulted
in the decision not to release the second general budget support
payment in December.
As the International Development Secretary set out
in her WMS of 30 November, it is hoped that the UK's strong development
relationship with Rwanda will continue. As a post-conflict nation
recovering from a devastating genocide, the development results
Rwanda has achieved over the last 18 years have been remarkable.
The Department is already exploring options for how the UK can
continue to help protect development and poor people in Rwanda
at this time. In addition, the UK will continue to work with the
Government of Rwanda to secure a peaceful resolution to the situation
in eastern DRC.
As set out in the WMS, 'meeting the partnership principles
alongside tangible improvements on the ground, and continued progress
made by the Government of Rwanda in supporting peace, are key
factors in any decision on general budget support.'
Response to the conclusions and recommendations
Recommendation 1
None of the above appears to back up the claims
that the former Secretary of State was a "rogue" minister
acting without the knowledge of the Foreign Secretary or the approval
of the Prime Minister. However, the former Secretary of State
told us he judged that Rwanda had moved significantly against
two of the three conditions set down by the Prime Minister. We
are not privy to all the information and advice upon which he
made this judgement. However, on the basis of the other evidence
which we received, we do not understand how he concluded that
Rwandan support for M23 had ceased. (Paragraph 22) (Paragraph
1, Page 14)
Noted. DFID's Permanent
Secretary set out in his evidence to the Public Accounts Committee
he had no regularity or propriety concerns. He was satisfied that
DFID officials provided balanced, honest, objective advice.
Recommendation 2
Rwanda is making significant progress towards
the Millennium Development Goal targets and is lifting people
out of poverty. We have seen for ourselves the tremendous improvements
that Rwanda has made since 1994 and consider that general budget
support has proved effective in reducing poverty in Rwanda. For
this reason, we think that UK aid should continue to benefit the
people of Rwanda. However questions arise about the best method
to deliver it. (Paragraph 26)
Agreed. The Secretary
of State, Justine Greening has instructed the Department to look
at options around how the UK can protect the poorest groups in
Rwanda, with the aim of continuing our support to its impressive
poverty reduction efforts. We have since the decision released
£3m for a social cash transfers programme which will be directly
targeted at the poorest. Other re-programming interventions are
being designed.
Recommendation 3
We do not believe that Rwanda has met the Prime
Minister's conditions and we recommend that the second tranche
of general budget support should not be provided in December.
(Paragraph 27)
Agreed. As stated in the
Secretary of State for International Development's Written Ministerial
Statement of 30 November, the UK did not release the second tranche
of general budget support to the Government of Rwanda, scheduled
for December, due to our assessment of a breach of the partnership
principles.
Recommendation 4
In the light of the Memorandum of Understanding,
and the partnership principles contained therein, the conditions
the Prime Minister set for the resumption of general budget support—the
Rwanda should 1) engage constructively in the peace process, 2)
publicly condemn the M23 group and 3) there should be a continuing
ceasefire in the Kivus and practical support to the M23 should
end—are not unreasonable. We recommend that before further
general budget support is disbursed the Government must ensure
Rwanda unambiguously complies with all three of the Prime Minister's
conditions—general budget support should not be provided
if Rwanda is providing support to the M23 rebels. Until these
conditions are met in full, DFID should deliver its aid through
alternative channels. (Paragraph 28)
Agreed. Having decided
not to release the second General Budget support payment in December,
the Secretary of State for International Development will return
to the issue of general budget support to Rwanda later this year,
and consider progress against the partnership principles and the
Prime Minister's three conditions.
Recommendation 5
We also recommend that DFID consult formally,
at ministerial level, with other donors before making a decision
to reinstate general budget support. While we understand that
the UK Government will make its own decision, it is important
that there is some donor coordination of response, even if those
responses differ. Donors will need to consider the impact of their
individual and cumulative decisions on different sectors. DFID
has committed to work with other development partners to improve
alignment and harmonisation of development assistance in the Memorandum
of Understanding and we expect to see evidence of this. (Paragraph
29)
Agreed. DFID will continue
to co-ordinate closely with other donors at Ministerial and at
official level, in country and in capitals, on aid decisions and
aid effectiveness in Rwanda. DFID will continue to work with other
donors to assess the individual and cumulative impact of these
decisions.
Recommendation 6
Continuing unrest in the region threatens to undermine
DFID's large aid programmes there. The UK Government should give
a higher priority to the regional peace process. (Paragraph 30)
Agreed. The UK supports
a long term, regional solution to the crisis in Eastern DRC. It
will continue to engage positively with those involved in order
to help reach a sustainable peace. FCO Minister Mark Simmonds
visited the region at the end of November, to ensure that this
message was embedded with key players. He emphasised the need
for all involved parties to be represented in peace negotiations,
including Rwanda. The UK has continued to provide strong support
to those working on a regional solution, not only in Kampala,
but also through its representatives at the UN in New York, AU
in Addis Ababa, and EU in Brussels. Officials in FCO and DFID
are also developing, at Ministerial request, options for programming
in Eastern DRC to help with state building process.
Recommendation 7
We welcome the Secretary of State's plan to have
a more structured dialogue with international and local human
rights organisations with experience and knowledge of the situation
in Rwanda, and to engage formally with the FCO's human rights
process. We look forward to receiving regular updates from the
Secretary of State on these issues. DFID is the second largest
bilateral donor in Rwanda and, consistent with the Memorandum
of Understanding, it can, and should, play a leadership role in
encouraging human rights reforms. (Paragraph 33)
Agreed. DFID and FCO have
been working closely to ensure consistency in our human rights
reporting. The Secretary of State and other DFID Ministers and
officials would be glad to provide the Committee with updates
on DFID's engagement with human rights organisations to promote
respect for and fulfilment of human rights, in Rwanda.
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