The European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) have failed to demonstrate that the €435 million of EU aid to Kenya under the European Development Fund for 2014-2020 (11th EDF) helped to remove obstacles to development in the country and to reduce poverty, says a report by the Court of Auditors published on Tuesday 8 September.
The purpose of the audit was to determine whether the Commission and the EEAS had effectively directed EDF aid towards areas with the greatest potential for poverty reduction.
The auditors note that the aid allocation process does not allow aid to be linked to a country’s performance, governance, commitment to reform or fight against corruption. The allocation of funds does not take into account specific obstacles to development for individual countries or grants and loans from other donors.
They therefore recommend that the Commission and the EEAS: - examine the method the EU uses to allocate funding among ACP countries and link the financial allocation to the country’s performance and willingness to reform; - consider critical mass when selecting Kenya’s priority sectors and prioritise sustainable economic development and the Rule of law in the country.
According to the auditors, the €435 million covered only a small part of Kenya’s development needs and was spread over too many areas, increasing the risk that the critical mass needed to achieve significant results would not be achieved in any sector.
“Job creation is the most effective and sustainable way to reduce poverty. EU funds should therefore be used primarily for economic development”, comments the Member of the Court responsible for the report, Juhan Parts.
The Commission and the EEAS did not carry out a specific assessment of Kenya’s objectives and did not explain how the sectors that received aid were most likely to help the country reduce poverty.
The auditors found no reason for not directly supporting the manufacturing industry when this sector has great potential for job creation.
EU support in the energy and transport infrastructure sectors (€175 million) was not sufficient to meet the very ambitious targets agreed with the Kenyan authorities.
Support to fight corruption directly was limited, even though the phenomenon is perceived as widespread.
This report has been published while the EU and the Organisation of ACP Countries (OACPs) are negotiating the post-Cotonou Agreement and while the EDF is being integrated into the future 2021-2027 EU budget. The future Partnership Agreement’s financial endowment is part of the OACP/EU negotiations.
Link to the report: https://bit.ly/3jYnIKt (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)