The way ahead
p. 33 · Read in the full issue
ISLAND countries of the South Pacific are at a crossroad. With aid to the region slowing down, choices for devel opment what form and the pace it takes are coming under tight scrutiny. Gone were the days when the aid dollar flowed freely.
Assuming the level of aid to the region is slashed, the repercussion will no doubt be felt far and wide. For, according to a recent World Bank report on the economies of its Pacific island members, aid flows remain a key source of public sector financing for most Pacific island countries and account for a significant proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Any reduction will, for instance, result in a host of things including lower living standards and little or no growth at all in the island countries. It
seems the stage is now set for some hard decisions to be made.
Regional Organisations such as the South Pacific Forum Secretariat have been instrumental in seeking to identify ways to cushion any impact of cuts in aid level and to maximise or stretch the aid dollar as much as possible.
One useful avenue has been the Pacific Island Countries Development Partners gathering which the South Pacific Forum Secretariat instituted three years ago. Past meetings have seen record attendances by representatives of island countries, donor countries and agencies, regional organis ations and international lending institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank.
The objective of the PIC Development Partners’ meeting is to continue to create a greater awareness, through policy dialouge with development partners, of key issues affecting economic development in island countries.
Through discussions, these meetings also help identify mutual practical measures to help improve aid delivery and investment in Pacific island countries. One other gain from this dialogue is that it helps regional organisations to clearly see their role in a world full of challenges.
The Secretary General of the South Pacific Forum Secretariat Hon. leremia Tabai summed this up well in a recent address at New Zealand’s Victoria University.
Speaking on the theme “The Forum and Beyond”, Tabai said, “Where we need to go is beginning to become clearer; exactly how we get there is not.”
And so it is. Through the PIC Development Partners’ gatherings and similar meetings, what appears to be a general lack of focus in the past has been removed with national priorities of each island country being brought to the fore.
In his official opening remarks, the Secretary General warned the April gathering, however, that this position was no reason for complacency. Indeed, he stressed the importance of either maintaining or improving the living standard in island countries through efficient and effective use of aid money. “This then underlines the importance of ensuring that aid monies are spent effectively and efficiently rather than a preoccupation with the total amount,” he said.
The World Bank review, released at the Suva meeting addressed four key areas public sector management,
private sector development, human resource development and environmentally sustainable growth - with step-by-step prescriptions.
These prescriptions include such actions as each island country situ ation being treated individually and government and private sector work in partnership.
Although there was broad support by Pacific island countries and their development partners for the World Bank prescription, the meeting also
acknowledged that implementation
would not be easy and that economic growth, although considered likely, was not guaranteed.
The four-day meeting also agreed
on the general framework for de veloping a regional strategy, the need for its political edorsement and
the need for working through existing institutional arrange ments.
When it is fully developed, the regional Strategy, will allow for clearer identification of regional priorities that takes fully into account national priorities. This will ensure that only those projects/programs best dealt with at the regional level are undertaken. Small island states’ special needs will also be accommodated. In a sense, this strategy will provide donors a “one-stop shop” in identifying where they should support
regional activities.
Australia continues to support regional co-operation and the need for effective consultations between island countries and their development partners. This was shown in their funding support for the three PIC Development Partners’ gatherings held so far.
As a measure of regional co-operation, the Apia-based South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and other development partners were praised at PIC Development Partners’ meeting in Suva for the work they have done and are continuing to do to strengthen PlCs’ national environmental management programs.
The meeting also heard the importance Pacific island countries attach to training, both within and outside the region. In this regard, PICs appealed to their development partners to be flexible about access for further training.
Although improving the quality of life is the ultimate objective of development, the meeting agreed that economic development alone was not sufficient to ensure human
development.
“PICs needed to be more selective in choosing develop ment projects and to provide driving opportunities for human development,” an executive summary of the meeting said.
“These included changes to budget allocations, tax policies, program policies and practices and consideration of environmental protection and safety.”
Co-operation between regional organisations and donor countries/agencies will continue. To reaffirm this, a Forum island countries’ ministerial meeting is due to be held in Port Vila, Vanuatu, in September to discuss and co-ordinate a regional approach to the 1994 Conference on World Population and Sustainable Development to be held in Cairo, Egypt. □