International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell spoke to Newsnight.
Last month a joint, undercover investigation by the Bureau and Newsnight revealed sickening human rights abuses and the systematic misuse of aid by the Ethiopian government.
The response from officials working for Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to the investigation was as expected: a vitriolic attack on our journalism with accusations of impartial reporting promoting the views of terrorists.
However, it is the response of the British government that causes more disquiet.
Last night Newsnight aired another piece following several further developments suggesting a crackdown by the Ethiopian government on opposition members as well as people believed to have contributed to our report.
Answering the charges
The International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell appeared on the programme to answer the allegation that DFID has turned a blind eye to these abuses by continuing to provide millions of pounds in aid to Ethiopia.
Related article: International Development Secretary answers questions over aid
It started well with the secretary of state saying that the programme aired serious allegations that need to be answered, and that he would personally raise them with Prime Minister Zenawi and his officials, pressing for an open and independent investigation.
It was only when pushed on the issue that he admitted that the department in fact relies on ‘regional implementation’. And this is where his argument breaks down.
These are grave allegations concerning atrocious human rights abuses and the systemic misuse of aid – British taxpayers’ money – for political purposes. It doesn’t get more serious than this.
It was what followed that smacks of obfuscation.
Mr Mitchell’s opening gambit was that no British development support goes through the Ethiopian government, giving the impression that our aid was in safe hands.
Related article: Ethiopia Aid Exposed – Abuse and terror in the Ogaden
It was only when pushed on the issue that he admitted that the department in fact relies on ‘regional implementation’. And this is where his argument breaks down.
Response from the Department for International Development
‘In the past five years, British aid to Ethiopia has helped to halve rates of malaria, double immunisation rates, put four million children into primary school and protect almost eight million people from hunger.
‘It is entirely wrong to suggest the misuse of taxpayers’ money.
‘The British Government takes allegations of aid distortion very seriously. DFID officials in Ethiopia made regular field visits to monitor implementation of all DFID-funded programmes. These visits looked at all aspects of implementation, including whether there was any evidence of distortion. Those field visits – and dozens of similar visits by other donor agencies – made clear that there was no systemic distortion for political reasons in the distribution of aid.’
In a virtual one party state there is no distinction between central and local administrations. They are essentially one and the same: the orders come down from on high, and all are expected to toe the line.
It was pointed out to Mr Mitchell that the allegations are centred on the distribution of aid at just such a local level.
But it was his subsequent assertion that was more remarkable.
Mitchell stated that British officials had already investigated similar allegations on the ground and found no evidence of systemic manipulation of aid.
Desk-based investigations
It was only later that officials confirmed that Mr Mitchell was referring to a report compiled by British officials for the Development Assistance Group (DAG) – a consortium of international donors. This was a desk-based study compiled in Addis Ababa, looking at programme systems and safeguards on paper. It clearly states that it did not seek to prove or disprove allegations of distortion.
The report itself also recommended that it should be followed up with a field investigation.
Related article: Ethiopia aid exposed – Voices of the tortured
Again these are important issues – not only about the misuse of taxpayers’ money – but horrific allegations of human rights abuses including mass detentions, extrajudicial killings, torture and rape.
Either Mr Mitchell has been ill-advised or he is playing politics: clouding the issue over our government’s support of a regime seemingly intent on crushing dissent. The British public deserves better.
Click here to read the Bureau’s investigation in full.
Read the minister’s full interview here.
September 23rd, 2011 at 10:16 am (#)
British Tax payer money!! You are right and this should be used wisely. However, if you leave Ethiopia and its people to sort our problems out without your nosy reporters, we wouldn’t need your money.
Jonathan Dimbleby did irresponsible reporting 37 years ago and that resulted in revolution which claimed a further 1 to 2 million people life as a result of turmoil and famine that followed.
Every revolution that followed caused more problems and the main culprits of this are your so called “investigative Journalist”. For them it is about being aired on primetime news program and don’t give a dam to what follows.
If you are really concerned about Ethiopia, just cancel the Nile treaty the British government signed which stops Ethiopia using its own water. Don’t be hypocrite!! Would you allow “investigative Journalist” to come to Britain and investigate it problems? I don’t think so. Free Journalism is the back bone of freedom and democracy, but if not used responsibly, it is a lethal weapon….
(Editor’s note: It isn’t in my power to allow “investigative Journalist” to come to Britain, but if it were I wouldn’t have a problem with it at all.)
September 23rd, 2011 at 3:19 pm (#)
The Ethiopian government uses the Wests’ tax payers aid money on cracking down dissent of any form.It not only gets financial support but also military support informs of military training and weaponry supply which it uses to crush freedom fighters and opposition parties meaningful political participation.With this support it enjoys from decisive powers abroad it could inflict the worst human right abuses mainly on Oromos, Ogadenise, and all the other nations in Ethiopia for the last 20 years.There is no need to mention an open fact that the Tigrian minority which constitute only about 6% of the empire is repressing the Oromo which are more than 40 million of Ethiopia’s about 85 million population by depriving Oromos and others independent representation. TPLF formed Surrogate political organizations called PDO’s like OPDO from Derg captives beginning from 1989.This means only Tigray is free and enjoying the development claimed above in Ethiopia while the others are brutally oppressed by those who served Derg and are currently serving this dictatorial regime. The genuine Oromo peoples representative, OLF was pushed out of transitional government when it was seen as a threat to TPLF’s power. Now the Oromo citizens suffer repression accused mainly of supporting OLF struggle for Oromia’s independence.
September 23rd, 2011 at 11:46 pm (#)
It took hundreds of Years of wars, bloodshed, racism, etc. to build the so called UK and USA democracy (where you can not be a president if you do not have money). How on earth can Ethiopia be expected to become perfect democracy overnight (20 years). ETHIOPIA IS NOW UNDER ITS WISEST AND BEST EVER LEADERSHIP IN ITS HISTORY. ETHIOPIA NEEDS 10 STEPS FORWARD ON DEVELOPMENT AND 1 STEP FORWARD ON “DEMOCRACY”. HUNGER & DEMOCRACY CAN NOT GO TOGETHER! ETHIOPIA’S #1 ENEMY IS POVERTY THAT IS WHERE ETHIO SHOULD FOCUS – IGNORING ALL THE NON-SENSE FROM POWER HUNGER FANATICS & THEIR ECHO – WESTERN MEDIA – BBC!
the respected UK official has said it all below and that what remains as fact on the ground:—
“In the past five years, British aid to Ethiopia has helped to halve rates of malaria, double immunisation rates, put four million children into primary school and protect almost eight million people from hunger.”
September 26th, 2011 at 4:07 am (#)
Saving a Tyrant
“Extra cash for starving Ethiopians” declares the British government. How insensitive could one get? They have to spit on you and slap you in the face as they hand you “extra cash.” That is an enormous price to pay for not having enough to eat. The fact is, not all Ethiopians are starving; and certainly not those in Mr. Meles’s region.
Mitchell said: “Through no fault of its own, the Horn of Africa is experiencing a severe drought caused by the failed rains.”
Are you for real, Mitchell? Sure no one could stop drought but wouldn’t you say if Meles had his priorities right and had allowed free press and opposition democracy to flourish such things could have been forestalled? Such priorities would include curbing corruption [returning the more than $8.4 billion stashed abroad over the past 20 years], not spending millions on tanks and not allowing foreign agro-business to scramble for huge tracts on the cheap to fill their own granaries and sell the rest on the world market while starving Ethiopian peasants are rounded up to hastily organized villages.
Mitchell continued, “Britain is acting quickly and decisively in Ethiopia to stop this crisis becoming a catastrophe. We will provide vital food to help 1.3 million people through the next three months. For the response to be effective, we need the most up-to-date, accurate information on the level of need in Ethiopia. The country has made great strides in many areas over the past 30 years and this emergency relief will help to ensure that these gains are not eroded.”
We observe Mitchell is naïve in requesting “the most up-to-date, accurate information.” First, Meles was in power only 20 years [not 30]; the extra decade of “the great strides” you talk about belongs to the Derg regime. And we don’t think Meles will be pleased with that insinuation. In short, you won’t be getting what you are asking for. For your information, this is another Stalinistic regime you are dealing with.
Don’t you sometimes wonder why Britain and the US continue to stand by a tyrant against suffering publics when they full well know what is going on? Well, it is just one proof that their immediate interests trump every moral category [justice, freedom, etc] they say they uphold. Don’t you see why Meles was too willing to commit Ethiopian soldiers for his adventures into Somalia and now to Sudan’s peacekeeping force? This is how he safeguards his power. Millions of bailout money rolls in and he is awarded for his collaborations with legitimacy and audacity to effect compliance where and when he is threatened. The most recent ‘demand’ to stop VOA from broadcasting views of the opposition is a case in point. One should also look into non-transparent mining and business deals to understand US/UK collusion with tyrants.
There has not been a single day, week, month, year that millions have not starved in Ethiopia. There has not been a single year food aid was not needed. And there has not been a single time Meles has not declared the nation is progressing to catch up with Middle Income countries. Over the years he has made unilateral declarations that the nation’s growth rate is [11.5 percent early on]14.5 percent. His ego and inexperience knows no bounds.
He always denied before reluctantly acceding to facts everyone had knowledge of. Over the years UN and International Agencies have written upto 7 millions are starving at any given time among which are malnourished children; Meles would unabashedly come back to attack those who put out such figures. In 2009 the official statement was “in the Ethiopian context, there is no hunger, no famine.” If you have time you may want to go back and re-view his interviews to TIME, The Economist, The Financial Times. Mitchell does not want to hear that.
Meles is really on a personal quest to prove he is someone to reckon with. His one quest is to get validation from the west he not so long ago sought to discredit. The problem is that Ethiopians don’t trust him at all because he is a compulsive liar. He said early on that under his leadership [unlike those of his predecessors] Ethiopians will be assured of three meals a day. This never happened in the twenty years he was in power. And it is getting worse by the day. Few people in the cities manage two meals a day; the majority struggle to scrounge a meal a day.
He re-registered NGOs to weed out those he did not like before the 2010 elections. He also made sure there are no private press [that includes jamming VOA with help from the Chinese] and no opposition. No wonder we have an emergency situation in the country. The unfortunate thing is millions have to pay with their lives what a scoundrel of a leader messed up.
We believe Ethiopian women have a unique opportunity to force Meles to step down. It is they who daily experience the effect of grinding injustices from soaring prices and of providing for the family. All they have to do is bypass the men [ageing Medrek leaders] and, empty pots in hand, walk down the streets and refuse to go away until Meles stepped down. Their children and husbands could join if they so wish but this is to be primarily a mother and daughter thing!!
Read more in Ethiopian Recycler
(Editor’s note: sections of this article have been edited in accordance with posting guidelines).
September 26th, 2011 at 4:12 am (#)
Did it ever occur to Mitchell that the process of democratization is not helped at all in funding a despotic regime that has effectively marginalized any opposition and free press?
October 2nd, 2011 at 3:11 pm (#)
The british governement is the main actor of behind the represion of the ethiopia’s people by bloody weyanes under the leadership of meles. Britian has been associating it self with aparthiede system in ethiopia has been loootting ethiopia’a natural resources like god, sugar , coffee and thee with almost a cheap price. It the british police who trained the meles’s police who have been beating and interogating innocent ethiopians because of their political stand.
The british government has been playing double games , one with TPLF and the other with some separatist group in east part of ethiopia. So we , ethiopians know very well who are the enemies of our country and our ppl.The british government stands on first place in our list. The so called developement aid or NGO, are begging bln of dollars in our ppl name and they are living their luxrious life in ethiopia. They should keep supporting meles , because meles is the sources of poverity and if there is no poverity in ethiopia all NGO should leave ethiopia. that means they loss their luxrious life . So hidding all meles’s crimes against our country and ppl will give all NGO’s workers a the future gaurantee to live luxrious life in ethiopia as usual.