ADDRESS BY MRS. MARY CHINERY-HESSE CHIEF ADVISOR TO H.E. THE PRESIDENT OF THE REBUBLIC OF GHANA AS CO-CHAIR OF THE THIRD HIGH LEVEL FORUM ON AID EFFECTIVENESS, SEPTEMBER 2 - 4, 2008
Your Excellencies
Honourable Ministers from Developing and Partner Countries,
Heads of Regional and Multilateral Development Banks, Bilateral Agencies and UN Agencies
My co-chair Ann Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF, Nananom, Niimei, Naamei
Distinguished Participants

On behalf of the Government of Ghana, the OECD and the World Bank, organizers of the Third High Level Forum on Aid and Development Effectiveness, my Co-Chair, Mrs. Ann Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF and I are pleased to welcome you to the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. We welcome you in particular to the Plenary, the Panel and the Roundtable discussions we will be having over the coming two days, which are an important part of the overall High Level Forum Program.

I promised you in Hanoi that the warmth of Ghanaian hospitality awaited you in Accra. We will deliver on that promise. Even as we concentrate efforts on achieving a good outcome from our deliberations, I hope you will create some space to enjoy beautiful Ghana.

This is an important Forum. We have gathered here for a mid-term review of progress on what we committed ourselves to do by 2010, following the Paris Declaration in 2005. We committed to use aid resources effectively, sparing no effort to accelerate growth and achieve better development outcomes, especially to reduce poverty for the millions of people around the globe. And we committed to do this by scaling up aid and through good practices of aid delivery and management.

We have arrived here following a watershed Agreement started in Rome in 2003, strengthened with the Paris , Declaration on Aid Effectiveness in 2005, and given more focus on results in Hanoi in 2007. The road from Hanoi to Accra witnessed a number of formal and informal encounters. Other signal events that have contributed to this work include Agreements reached at Monterrey in 2002 and Marrakech in 2004. This has presented us with a creative platform for a results-oriented dialogue in response to the challenges posed by the Paris Declaration, both to the world of development cooperation and to the field of development evaluation.

We have a mission to take stock of progress made so far in terms of the Principles anchored in the five commitments of the Paris Declaration which are ownership, alignment and harmonization, managing for development results, mutual accountability, and monitoring and evaluation systems. We must address issues with candour, frankly and boldly.

As you are aware, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Monitoring Mechanism agreed as an integral part of the process of reform focused on 12 indicators, with targets to be used in 2008, 2010 and beyond. The indicators are intended for review and report on the degree to which the international community has followed through on the commitments. In this regard, as we move forward we need to ensure that these monitoring indicators do not become routine tools in the hands of bureaucrats, who simply feel obliged to go through the motions, without much conviction. We should insist that tf1ey remain credible indices which enable us to face up to the imperatives imposed by lessons from experience, so that the necessary adjustments to policies and practices can be made.

It behoves us to assess the utility of the Paris Declaration by making a judgment on its clarity, relevance and coherence, and by examining the enabling environment for the implementation of the commitments. We finally have to determine if the Paris Declaration has made a positive impact on the management of development assistance, and whether it has assisted in ridding aid administration of inertia, entrenched bad habits and resistance to change.

As we initiate our deliberations, we cannot but as well take cognizance of the rapidly changing international aid landscape where others, beyond the traditional Donor countries are becoming increasingly important. We have to also acknowledge the fact that there are more global Programmes and Funds that are involved in channeling aid to tackle specific problems. All this should factor into the refinements which we might need to make in respect of the aid effectiveness agenda as we chart the way forward.

When we met in Hanoi in February 2007, I remember particularly proposing that our meeting in Accra should have at its disposal quantitative data and robust evidence to enable us establish the continuing relevance and effectiveness of the Paris Declaration, as an instrument for improving the quality of aid and its impact on development. I am happy to note that this has been done.

This time round, we can base our discussions on aid effectiveness on more concrete measurement of impact. I would like to congratulate Partner Countries and Donors for making this possible. Proof of this can be found in the provided documentation for the Forum. I refer to the Progress Report, the Report on the Survey, and the Report on the initial Evaluation.

The preparatory process has taken the form of broad consultations across the globe which started more than a year ago in Mauritius, and was continued here in Accra, in Tegucigalpa and in Manila. Subsequent consultations were also organized this year in Fiji, Bangkok, Santa Marta, Kigali, Jeddah and in Paris. Civil Society Organizations have been equally part of the broad consultations. I am, convinced that " it is this intense reach out to all that is reflected in the broad representation the Accra Meeting has attracted.

Of course as the Host Government, we are extremely pleased that this preparatory track has resulted in such high level participation in the Forum by so many. The omen for a successful conclusion of the deliberations is therefore very good.

As all must be aware, Ghana has been closely involved in the Paris Agenda, especially by serving as a Member and one of the Co-Vice Chairs of the Working Party on Aid Effectiveness since 2006. Ghana is also the current co-chair of the Strategic Partnership with Africa. We have taken our participation seriously and have given of our best, bearing in mind what the stakes are, as the Host of the Accra High Level Forum.

Now where are we today? I believe we can confidently state that there is commitment to the aid effectiveness agenda, with buy-in across the globe. From where we sit in Africa, we can reasonably assert that we see change. There is progress in some respects. Of course it is true as well that progress varies by country and by donor.

We can however still say that the reform and governance agenda have taken root in Africa. In the case of Ghana, our own constituencies are demanding greater accountability, and we are the better for it today. This transition to democracy is also valid across the Continent. Throughout the developing world, we now have vibrant Non-Governmental constituencies demanding results from their elected officials and the public sector at large.

We have heeded the insistence that citizens and local stake¬holders be key participants at all levels of aid administration, in order that real needs rather than those second-guessed would be the ones to be addressed. Sustainability has thus been better ensured, and the watch¬dog role of Civil Society Organisations is much improved.

We have made some progress on harmonization, seeing the wisdom in obviating wasteful uncoordinated development where various stakeholders are working at cross purposes, duplicating, competing, and even unconsciously undermining each other's efforts. We have appreciated the fact that in such a situation, economies of scale, tapping into synergies and reinforcing modalities can then not be taken advantage of. We have done this largely through program based approaches, SWAPs in performing countries, and Multi Donor Trust Fund Arrangements.

There is greater focus on Managing for Development Results. We heard a lot about this in Hanoi last year. We at the time spoke about Communities of Practice, and of how Managing for Results is being used. All these are worthy refinements. There is still a lot of room, however, for improvement. There is much more to be done. We have to admit that the pace of progress made since 2005 is too slow. We need to increase our efforts at reform and action to meet the aid effectiveness targets we have committed to for 2010.

In spite of all our efforts, and ironically, aid is getting more fragmented. The challenge going forward must focus on greater alignment. There is the need to move forward with a new sense of urgency. We must not merely talk about things. We must act.

Ladies and Gentlemen, What should be our expectations for the outcome from this High Level Forum? I will like to venture just a few suggestions, taking into account the lessons gleaned from the commissioned evaluation of the Paris Declaration, which expose the challenges imposed by fragmentation and weak coordination.

We expect that Partner Countries would pledge to give indication as soon as possible of definitive prioritized steps they intend to take, in order to put themselves firmly in the driver's seat for aid administration. This should clearly indicate their capacity weaknesses. Development Partners should in turn commit to give the necessary support for capacity strengthening, to fortify the leadership role of Governments.

It is a truism however that control of the driver's seat is only meaningful if the vehicle is in good enough condition. The road map and final destination must also be determined and made evident in order to inspire confidence in potential passengers that they can entrust their lives to this driver.

In order for Partner Countries to justify their right to be considered as credible drivers, indeed owners of the vehicles, they should give an undertaking to devise and propagate convincing systems of managing for results, best suited to their domestic planning, management and accountability needs. In this way they would provide the framework which would act as guidance for Development Partner contributions.

In the light of my earlier assertion of the critical role of Civil Society Organisations and the Private Sector as direct development actors, there should be agreement on instituting transparent mechanisms which will give them access to the information they would need for monitoring the performance of the various players in the aid arena. Development Partners should for their part pledge to modify the modalities for aid administration in favour of greater delegation of authority to their field offices. This would make their representatives better team players at the local level.

The conference will be adjudged a success if there is agreement to move forward on the Paris Agenda with a new sense of urgency, and with some degree of concurrence on what should be given the highest priority, and if there is agreement that new donors should be more fully integrated in terms of the Paris commitments.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, in conclusion, we need to remind ourselves that we are here today with a shared commitment to fashioning a more effective development assistance framework. We should remind each other that urgent and decisive action is needed to mitigate the strain on the international aid system.

Let us also remind ourselves that addressing inequalities of income and opportunity within countries and between states is essential to global progress. Aid effectiveness is about generating better development results to counter these inequalities. This ought to be at the heart of all we do.

Let us strengthen our resolve to see our commitments and our follow-up actions translated into positive impact on people's lives. In the final analysis, that is all that really matters.

Thank you for your attention.