Ethiopian Review

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — The Obama administration is considering a “new approach” to its provision of aid, focusing more on sustainable development rather than emergency assistance, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Jacob J. Lew said on Monday, raising the question of whether the US was shifting its emphasis away from emergency assistance.

The American official however said that it was an overstatement to say US assistance over the past had purely been for emergency.

“There will undoubtedly be moments when there will be a need for more or less emergency assistance. We are not saying the United States is turning away from that form of assistance but that balance needs to change,” Lew said.

In 2008 the United States provided 1 billion dollars in assistance to Ethiopia of which 60 per cent was used for humanitarian food aid.

“What we are exploring is ways to rethink the form of our aid overall. The US will be increasing the amount of aid in both areas of food security and global health, so I do not have the specific announcement with regards to any country, but overall we have made it very clear that we are increasing and changing the balance at the same time,” he said.

Lew, who also met and held discussions with senior government officials including Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, said he had also brought with him concerns in Washington regarding developments in Ethiopia.

“[T]he Prime Minister and I discussed other challenges where we share common objectives yet may have differing views. Much of our foreign assistance is delivered through non-governmental organizations and community society organizations, and we are concerned about the restrictions that have recently been placed on their activities,” he said.

According to the US official, topics included in the discussions with Prime Minister Meles were the 2010 elections, and issues of freedom of expression.

“This is not a new statement of concern. The US is troubled at the reduction in the space for open public debate after [the 2005] elections as Ethiopia approaches a new election. It is important that there be good elections and a good election requires that the parties have agreed to have a dialogue between the government and the opposition parties and an agreement to take seriously and investigate any suggestion of inappropriate (conduct of the election) process. My understanding is that that has been agreed to already.”

A question raised during Monday’s press conference was how aid and the political development in Ethiopia and around the region played out.

Some questioned whether the US, if it continues to be troubled by developments in Ethiopia, would consider altering its assistance. There was also a question of a possible link between Lew’s visit now, the aid provided to Somalia and the offer of development assistance.

“It is not a matter of reaction to the development of today or a week ago, but it is a matter of the broader view of how development programs and foreign assistance all compliment our overall foreign policy,” Lew told journalists.
Lew is not the first US official to bring similar concerns from Washington to Addis.

Former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy and Human Rights and Labor David Kramer made two visits to Ethiopia, the recent one being in October last year.

Kramer had then expressed that his government was concerned with the civil society law which was still being reviewed by council of ministers, and the press law.

Kramer during his last visit had said he had held talks with a number of opposition leaders and said that Washington was concerned with the increase in the closure of political space.

- By Namrud Berhane | Ethiopian Reporter