The partial de-centralisation of development aid proposed by Bart De Wever and debated in the Arizona coalition negotiations is "dogmatic" and "will further fragment aid when it needs to be harmonised," warns Arnaud Zacharie, Secretary-General of CNCD-11.11.11.
The NGO group presented its annual report on Belgian development cooperation on Thursday.
The report reveals that while Belgian public development aid is generally considered pertinent and well-targeted, it remains below international targets.
Last year, the aid stagnated, with a slight decrease. Although the allocated amount increased by €86 million (to 2.6 billion), it now represents only 0.44% of gross national income (down from 0.45% the previous year).
Belgium is a "poor performer in the north-west," lagging behind its neighbours, even though it has stopped counting non-development expenses, such as costs for foreign students or hosting Ukrainian refugees, as aid.
Belgium has committed to meeting the international target of allocating 0.70% of its gross national income to public development aid by 2030. However, the proportion of income dedicated to PDA has stagnated for years while the funding needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goals is immense.
The CNCD-11.11.11 raises the alarm: "Development cooperation budgets should not be reduced but rather increased during this legislative term."
Negotiators for the next government coalition are considering transferring certain competencies (such as university and municipal cooperation) to federal entities, amounting to €630 million over five years. This budget is not accounted for in the current agreements or ongoing negotiations of these entities.
As a result, "either the transferred competencies will disappear, or their continuation will impact all other areas," summarised CNCD-11.11.11.
The Nyarugenge district hospital, which was funded by Belgian development agency Enabel, in partnership with the city of Kigali and the Rwanda health ministry. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
Further reducing already insufficient budgets given international targets is "a miscalculation," continues Arnaud Zacharie.
"We are all in the same boat, even if we are not in the same place," he states. "Investing in climate finance, eradicating communicable diseases, conflict prevention, or global economic stability is also in our interest. Global issues cannot be solved by thinking they stop at our borders."
De-centralising development aid will not make it more effective, quite the opposite, argues CNCD-11.11.11, citing additional administrative burdens for sector actors. Treating aid as a budgetary variable overlooks the "boomerang effect," particularly as "all of Europe’s periphery is in crisis."
"A virus from the other side of the world confined us for two years," Antoinette van Haute, the principal author of the CNCD report, reminds us.
Contrary to current negotiations, the NGO coalition advocates for strengthening public development aid and honouring international commitments. They also call for the refinancing of conflict prevention and peace consolidation — a sector where Belgian funding has significantly dwindled over the past decade.
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), every dollar invested today in these areas saves $16 in future costs.
