Britain Offers Nigeria, Others $15bn Financing for Education
Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 2:03 amThe United Kingdom has concluded arrangements to commit the equivalent of $15 billion to fund education in Nigeria and other African countries over the next 10 years, an amount four times more than UK's grants in 10 years and which President Olusegun Obasanjo said Nigeria was ready to partake in.
Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the Conference on Financing for Development organized by Nigeria, the African Develop-ment Bank (ADB) and other donor agencies, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Gordon Brown, who unveiled the package expresses concern that 77 out of 99 countries, mostly in Africa, (according to the World Bank estimates) still charge some type of fees for basic education.
He said the decision by Britain to commit such a huge amount of money to fund education in the continent was borne out of the desire to ensure every child had access to quality education by helping to close the funding gap for education, which stood at $400 million.
Brown promised to put pressure on other G8 countries at their meeting which will hold in June in Russia to contribute their own share of funding towards education in Africa to achieve the desired goal, especially before 2015.
Given Britain's willingness to offer such a monumental financing for education, he said the country expected a 10-year plan on education from African countries as a matter of urgency so as to benefit from the largesse.
He added "this is why I am privileged to be here today to see so many countries - some committing for the first time, some reaffirming the commitment you have already made - to 10-year plans that show, step by step, your route to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to provide free education to every child.
"But I know - and this is the message you rightly tell me today when you say to me you do not want to be disappointed again by setting your aspirations high - you can only put in place ambitious 10-year plans, if you have the certainty of finance to achieve them.
"And not with the finance of the past that was too often halting and sporadic, but aid which is stable, predictable and guaranteed over the long term. And greater predictability must also be matched by greater flexibility from the international financial institutions: taking into account the pledges from donors so as to give you the fiscal space, without constraints on spending ceilings, to achieve the priorities set out in your own education plans.
"So let me say this: Britain will play our part in securing that finance by demanding that rich countries meet our responsibility and keep our promises on increased aid. This is why in Mozambique last month, Hilary Benn and I set out Britain's pledge: we will enter into 10 year agreements with you to finance your 10-year education plans - locking in the long-term commitment vital to delivering high quality education for all.
"In total Britain will commit at least $15 billion over the next ten years - four times as much as the $3.5 billion of the previous ten years. And we now call on others to follow. In St Petersburg in June, I will press other G8 Finance Ministers to commit to their share.
"Starting with closing the immediate $400 million funding gap in the World Bank's Fast Track Initiative, at the G8 Heads of Government summit the month after, President Putin has agreed to put education for all the world's children on the agenda. On your part, you need to demonstrate immediately that you have the plans in place that are ambitious, showing step by step over 10 years, your route to providing education for every child and the appropriate skills for your economy - plans that cover 10 years because donors can only provide long-term pledges against long-term plans.
"I know some of you already have these plans in place - ambitious plans that often have had to be scaled back to modest aspirations because of concerns about the availability of finance. We are not calling for you to start again. But we are asking for you reaffirm your ambition.
"And to those of you who do not have 10 year plans we offer our support - both financial and technical - to help you prepare them. And my aim is that at the Annual Meetings (of the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Group) in Singapore in September - with developing countries setting out the 10 year plans you are committing to today - developed countries hold to their promises and commit to financing them", Brown said.
On debt cancellation for poorest countries, Brown said, "last year (2005), at the Gleneagles Summit in Scotland, which it was Britain's honour to host as G8 President, the rich world made historic promises on reducing debt for the world's poorest countries. We have a duty to keep our promises. And last month following the earlier IMF deal, the
World Bank agreed their write off - a total write off of multilateral and bilateral debt of $170 billion in total.
"And we "Britain, are not satisfied: we will fight for debt relief for all 67 poor countries, and as an affirmation of our faith in this, Britain will unilaterally offer to service 10 per cent, our share of debt relief to all of the poorest countries - not just HIPCs (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) - who make debt relief the basis of poverty reduction."
Reacting in his speech to Britain's gesture announced by Brown, President Olusegun Obasanjo said the country was ready to partake in the $15 billion education fund Britain was offering Africa as she has already have a 10 -year plan in place for the sector. According to him, "we thank the UK government for its recent commitment of $15 billion over the next 10 years to finance education in Africa. In particular, I want to commend Chancellor Gordon Brown for leading this effort and also for looking for innovative financing mechanisms such as the International Financing Facility (IFF).
"I am pleased to announce that Nigeria has already prepared its educational programme in outline form for the next ten years and we believe that we can benefit from the medium-term financing arrangement prepared by the UK Government."
Obasanjo also said the recent Product RED initiative launched by Bono, a Irish musician and social activist, which aimed at "selling a range of products to provide revenues for development projects and especially fighting HIV/AIDS/ is also a step in the right direction."
He added that "the French Government Initiative on Airline Ticket Tax for development to which Nigeria has acceded is also commendable."
Obasanjo however pointed out that what was of critical importance was the need to effectively monitor aid flows to encourage transparency and mutual accountability in this new partnership which he expresses hope would be one of the focal issues at the conference.
According to the President, "monitoring of future aid flows is needed both at the country level and the international level. At the country level, civil society groups must play a more active role in monitoring commitments made by donors.
They must also ensure that their governments are accountable and transparent in using donor aid flows.
"At the international level, initiatives such as the Africa Partners Forum should be strengthened to monitor international aid commitments. I also want to applaud Bono's recent efforts to launch an independent monitoring mechanism of commitments for both African governments and donor countries. This will add value to the process."
He added that delivering on aid commitments was also crucial. "Without action on this front all the efforts by the development community would have been in vain. We must move from commitments and discussions to action and results. My hope is that this conference will provide a thorough assessment of where we are at present, what needs to be done to implement development goals and how our development partners will make resources available in line with previous commitments. We need a comprehensive outcome document which spells out the concrete steps and actions required," he stated.
Source: This Day
Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the Conference on Financing for Development organized by Nigeria, the African Develop-ment Bank (ADB) and other donor agencies, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Gordon Brown, who unveiled the package expresses concern that 77 out of 99 countries, mostly in Africa, (according to the World Bank estimates) still charge some type of fees for basic education.
He said the decision by Britain to commit such a huge amount of money to fund education in the continent was borne out of the desire to ensure every child had access to quality education by helping to close the funding gap for education, which stood at $400 million.
Brown promised to put pressure on other G8 countries at their meeting which will hold in June in Russia to contribute their own share of funding towards education in Africa to achieve the desired goal, especially before 2015.
Given Britain's willingness to offer such a monumental financing for education, he said the country expected a 10-year plan on education from African countries as a matter of urgency so as to benefit from the largesse.
He added "this is why I am privileged to be here today to see so many countries - some committing for the first time, some reaffirming the commitment you have already made - to 10-year plans that show, step by step, your route to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to provide free education to every child.
"But I know - and this is the message you rightly tell me today when you say to me you do not want to be disappointed again by setting your aspirations high - you can only put in place ambitious 10-year plans, if you have the certainty of finance to achieve them.
"And not with the finance of the past that was too often halting and sporadic, but aid which is stable, predictable and guaranteed over the long term. And greater predictability must also be matched by greater flexibility from the international financial institutions: taking into account the pledges from donors so as to give you the fiscal space, without constraints on spending ceilings, to achieve the priorities set out in your own education plans.
"So let me say this: Britain will play our part in securing that finance by demanding that rich countries meet our responsibility and keep our promises on increased aid. This is why in Mozambique last month, Hilary Benn and I set out Britain's pledge: we will enter into 10 year agreements with you to finance your 10-year education plans - locking in the long-term commitment vital to delivering high quality education for all.
"In total Britain will commit at least $15 billion over the next ten years - four times as much as the $3.5 billion of the previous ten years. And we now call on others to follow. In St Petersburg in June, I will press other G8 Finance Ministers to commit to their share.
"Starting with closing the immediate $400 million funding gap in the World Bank's Fast Track Initiative, at the G8 Heads of Government summit the month after, President Putin has agreed to put education for all the world's children on the agenda. On your part, you need to demonstrate immediately that you have the plans in place that are ambitious, showing step by step over 10 years, your route to providing education for every child and the appropriate skills for your economy - plans that cover 10 years because donors can only provide long-term pledges against long-term plans.
"I know some of you already have these plans in place - ambitious plans that often have had to be scaled back to modest aspirations because of concerns about the availability of finance. We are not calling for you to start again. But we are asking for you reaffirm your ambition.
"And to those of you who do not have 10 year plans we offer our support - both financial and technical - to help you prepare them. And my aim is that at the Annual Meetings (of the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Group) in Singapore in September - with developing countries setting out the 10 year plans you are committing to today - developed countries hold to their promises and commit to financing them", Brown said.
On debt cancellation for poorest countries, Brown said, "last year (2005), at the Gleneagles Summit in Scotland, which it was Britain's honour to host as G8 President, the rich world made historic promises on reducing debt for the world's poorest countries. We have a duty to keep our promises. And last month following the earlier IMF deal, the
World Bank agreed their write off - a total write off of multilateral and bilateral debt of $170 billion in total.
"And we "Britain, are not satisfied: we will fight for debt relief for all 67 poor countries, and as an affirmation of our faith in this, Britain will unilaterally offer to service 10 per cent, our share of debt relief to all of the poorest countries - not just HIPCs (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) - who make debt relief the basis of poverty reduction."
Reacting in his speech to Britain's gesture announced by Brown, President Olusegun Obasanjo said the country was ready to partake in the $15 billion education fund Britain was offering Africa as she has already have a 10 -year plan in place for the sector. According to him, "we thank the UK government for its recent commitment of $15 billion over the next 10 years to finance education in Africa. In particular, I want to commend Chancellor Gordon Brown for leading this effort and also for looking for innovative financing mechanisms such as the International Financing Facility (IFF).
"I am pleased to announce that Nigeria has already prepared its educational programme in outline form for the next ten years and we believe that we can benefit from the medium-term financing arrangement prepared by the UK Government."
Obasanjo also said the recent Product RED initiative launched by Bono, a Irish musician and social activist, which aimed at "selling a range of products to provide revenues for development projects and especially fighting HIV/AIDS/ is also a step in the right direction."
He added that "the French Government Initiative on Airline Ticket Tax for development to which Nigeria has acceded is also commendable."
Obasanjo however pointed out that what was of critical importance was the need to effectively monitor aid flows to encourage transparency and mutual accountability in this new partnership which he expresses hope would be one of the focal issues at the conference.
According to the President, "monitoring of future aid flows is needed both at the country level and the international level. At the country level, civil society groups must play a more active role in monitoring commitments made by donors.
They must also ensure that their governments are accountable and transparent in using donor aid flows.
"At the international level, initiatives such as the Africa Partners Forum should be strengthened to monitor international aid commitments. I also want to applaud Bono's recent efforts to launch an independent monitoring mechanism of commitments for both African governments and donor countries. This will add value to the process."
He added that delivering on aid commitments was also crucial. "Without action on this front all the efforts by the development community would have been in vain. We must move from commitments and discussions to action and results. My hope is that this conference will provide a thorough assessment of where we are at present, what needs to be done to implement development goals and how our development partners will make resources available in line with previous commitments. We need a comprehensive outcome document which spells out the concrete steps and actions required," he stated.
Source: This Day