The immediate cause for the debate was the embezzlement of large sums of aid money in Zambia. Carlsson brought the case to the attention of the public on the Swedish debate Web site Newsmill and calls for help to build a smart foreign aid system, in which money is used correctly despite prevalent corruption in the recipient countries.
Several days after the start of the debate, Gunilla Törnqvist, general director of the Swedish Agency for Development Evaluation (SADEV), was appointed to investigate the use of Swedish foreign aid. The report is to be presented at the international anti-corruption day on Dec. 9.
“Foreign aid is given to countries with corruption, and there has been a tendency to sweep this fact under the rug. I don’t want to live with Swedish tax money disappearing into black holes, so I’m taking this initiative,” Carlsson said in a statement from the Swedish Parliament.
Torbjörn Petterson, former Swedish ambassador in Tanzania, contributed to the debate on the Newsmill Web site advising the minister to, “Choose the forms for cooperation after having analyzed the political power structures in the country in question.”
Former Minister Jens Orback joined the debate saying he welcomes a better and more effective development cooperation, but that he suspects Carlsson plans to slash foreign aid.
The national goal for Sweden is a foreign aid of one percent of the GNP, but Carlsson said on various occasions that it might be reduced to 0.7 percent.
The general director of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Anders Nordström, who is in charge of monitoring Swedish aid money, said he is aware that corruption is a concrete obstacle. But that the recipient countries are actually improving their own systems to discover and identify risks as well.
With the climate challenge and the financial crisis, foreign aid can play a strategic and catalyzing role. We must get “smarter,” just like the minister says, he writes.
