From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:SOUTHERN AFRICA: Cuts in Finnish aid disappoint SADC team
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 23:49:28 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: SOUTHERN AFRICA: Cuts in Finnish aid disappoint SADC team


helsinki, dec 9 (ips/milla sundstroem) -- despite promises of
renewed support in better economic times, finland's decision to
cut aid to the southern african development community (sadc) was
an unwelcome one to community representatives visiting here.

''it is not clear to us why it was so easy to cut this money,''
said simba makoni, executive secretary of sadc. ''we have been
told that the people do not support development assistance anymore
because they are worried about their own future.

''have the finns suddenly lost the humanitarian feeling that has
been so typical to them?''

also speaking wednesday, at the end of a two day visit to
finland, vice-president of botswana and chairman of the council of
ministers of sadc, f.g. mogae, conveyed his disappointment to
finnish leaders, including finnish president mauno koivisto.

mogae said his finnish hosts had kept explaining that finland
will restore its development aid to the former level of 0.7
percent of gross national product (gnp) as soon as its economic
circumstances improve enough.

finland has decided to cut its aid budget to 0,4 percent of gnp
over 1993-1995. the government has proposed 489 million finnish
markka (94 million dollars) for country-to-country and regional
cooperation for 1993. the 1992 budget allocated 895 million markka
(172 million dollars).

projects included in sadc's programme of action received 140.4
million markka (27 million dollars) in the year 1991. this year
their share will be about 100 million markka (19 million dollars)
and next year only 40 million markka (7.7 million dollars).

finnish officials emphasise, however, that southern africa will
continue to receive about 50 percent of all finnish aid and its
relative share will even increase a little.

finland has bilateral development cooperation with four southern
african countries: mozambique, namibia, tanzania and zambia.

but despite the detailed explanations covering finland's economic
problems, global economic recession and problems caused by the
collapse of the soviet union, the sadc delegates kept on wondering
why the cuts had been made.

a finnish journalist representing non-governmental organisations
in the field of development cooperation, mikko lohikoski,
confirmed their suspicions by saying there was no evidence of the
''end of the people's support to aid''. (more/ips)

southern africa: cuts in finnish aid disappoint sadc team(2-e)

southern africa: cuts in finnish aid (2)

in fact, lohikoski told the delegation in person, all voluntary
collections for the third world have recently yielded record sums.

the sadc delegates shared his view that finland's official aid
policy gives an unpleasant picture of giving something only when
there are unusable supplies available and cutting up immediately
when not.

makoni noted that the reactions to tightening economic situation
vary very much even inside the five nordic countries (denmark,
finland, iceland, norway and sweden).

when finland started to cut aid, other nordic nations -- who are
also in economic difficulties -- wanted to continue their aid
programmes and found places to make national budget cuts. most
felt that aid should be kept at least at the former level although
it was not possible to increase it.

''the value of the cooperation is not at the millions of marks
but in the common consciense and understanding,'' makoni said.

the nordic countries have had a special role in cooperation
with the southern african countries since the 1986 when the
declaration called nordic/sadcc initiative was signed in harare.

finland is currently the nordic coordinator of sadc cooperation
and was therefore visited by the delegation in order to discuss
the future prospects of sadc (former southern african development
co-operation conference, sadcc) and its cooperation with the
nordic countries.

earlier in his tour of european donors, to preced the sadc's
annual conference jan. 27-29 in harare, makoni said in brussels
last week that he had noted cuts in the aid budgets of top donors
like finland, norway, sweden and the netherlands.

he added that he felt many donors were not being ''altogether
honest'' over falling contributions. ''we certainly sense a
diminution of focus in terms of development coordination in
southern africa,'' he said, putting the fall in support down to a
shift towards aid to  eastern europe and the confederation of
independent states (cis).

the sadcc became the sadc this year with big ambitions for its
members -- botswana, zimbabwe, zambia, tanzania, lesotho, angola,
mozambique, swaziland and lately, namibia. (end/ips/cd/ms/rj/92)
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