Masteropgave. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

Master's thesis. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

Master's thesis. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

Masteropgave. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

Improvement in information sharing and communication about the foreign aid resources between the donors and the aid-recipient countries have always been considered very important. In recent years, the integration of advanced technology in the area of aid coordination has received a tremendous amount of attention. The following thesis studies the influence of technology in the area aid coordination within the context of Afghanistan. Guided by the Actor-Network Theory, the thesis examines how the social and technological aspects of the Development Assistance Database (DAD), as an advanced aid information management technology, influences aid coordination and information sharing between the donors and the government of Afghanistan. Using a case study methodology, the research also investigates whether or not the DAD adheres to the principles of aid effectiveness. The findings reveal that although technology had a profound impact in the area of aid management in Afghanistan, there are several areas that still face challenges. The present study highlights these challenges and recommends the appropriate solutions.

With more than 30 million people living with HIV/AIDS and about 2.5 million people infected in 2006 alone, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has become one of the highest priorities on the global development agenda. About 65% of the world population living with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa also lags behind in achieving international development goals and the burden of HIV/AIDS further exacerbates the cycle of poverty and inequality. Donor aid is often given on the assumption that the recipient country has adequate capacity in the government to manage all aspects of development: planning, fiscal management, programme design, financial control and budgeting, project implementation, accountability and monitoring and evaluation. The multiplicity of funding modalities in the donor field makes the absorption and spending of aid a challenge. The national capacity influences the ability to absorb donor aid and the role of public administration in the national development programmes cannot be over-emphasised. To attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of the Millennium Declaration of the United Nations, special attention needs to be given to HIV/AIDS. Should the AIDS pandemic not be resolved properly, almost all the MDG might be in jeopardy. The Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness, harmonisation and alignment does not make any provision for safeguarding funds for the mitigation of the impact of HIV/AIDS in recipient countries. The United Nations’ UNAIDS has made it clear that to effectively attain any development goals in the developing world, mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS in all development activities needs to be done. Conceptually, mainstreaming HIV/AIDS means to bring HIV/AIDS to the centre of the development agenda, which requires change at individual, departmental and organisational level. From this overview emerges the research question: ‘Will the changing international official development assistance environment have an influence on financing the response to HIV/AIDS in the developing countries of southern Africa?’ This is a qualitative and descriptive study, based on a literature survey utilising a deductive approach in the fields of public administration, public financial management, development, development administration, HIV/AIDS and official development assistance (ODA). A model for a sector-based approach to financing the AIDS epidemic in the country was developed. The model is based on the many different mechanisms, best practices and lessons learned of many different organisations. It suggest one overarching body with legal status that can manage a country’s HIV and AIDS programme as a cross cutting issue. The Central body will have representation of all sectors, including government, donors and multilaterals. All the role players in the field should be involved in the development, planning and implementation of the programmes. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / unrestricted

This research examines the gap between the socio-political and economic reality of Palestine, under Israeli Occupation, and the perceptions, assumptions and limitations of small aid donors like Switzerland in a colonial context. It looks at how global and Swiss aid is formulated and dispensed to fragile ‘non-states’ like Palestine. My thesis found that aid in general is ineffective, with Swiss aid in particular being modest, lacking robustness and failing to respond to the colonial context that prevents Palestine from profiting the most from international aid. In addition, Swiss aid is afflicted by many shortcomings that have been identified by contemporary research: a large part of aid is tied; consultations with local partners are limited, excluding, by and large, civil society; and time constraints are such that current programs are generally designed on a relatively short-term basis.

Improvement in information sharing and communication about the foreign aid resources between the donors and the aid-recipient countries have always been considered very important. In recent years, the integration of advanced technology in the area of aid coordination has received a tremendous amount of attention. The following thesis studies the influence of technology in the area aid coordination within the context of Afghanistan. Guided by the Actor-Network Theory, the thesis examines how the social and technological aspects of the Development Assistance Database (DAD), as an advanced aid information management technology, influences aid coordination and information sharing between the donors and the government of Afghanistan. Using a case study methodology, the research also investigates whether or not the DAD adheres to the principles of aid effectiveness. The findings reveal that although technology had a profound impact in the area of aid management in Afghanistan, there are several areas that still face challenges. The present study highlights these challenges and recommends the appropriate solutions.

This work is dedicated to the "Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness", a document which was signed in 2005. This declaration was designed to eliminate serious issues occurring during the distribution of development aid and also to contribute to the successful completion of the Millennium Development Goals through the increase of aid effectiveness. In the first part of this thesis several shortages that the development community has had to face are outlined. A detailed analysis of the document follows in the second chapter, also including an evaluation of the progress achieved from 2005 to 2008 when the last report on the status of implementing the Paris Declaration was issued. Special attention is given to the influence of the document over the policies of the World Bank, European Union and the Czech Republic. The illustration of implementing the Paris Declaration into policies of developing countries has been made using Ethiopia and Cambodia as examples. Finally, this work is concluded by evaluating the effects of the Paris Declaration on the system of development aid.

The thesis focuses on development assistance to Palestine and on the role of this assistance within the Palestinian state formation and overall Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The work comprises evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of the development aid in general, based on several studies published by prominent researchers discussing the issues of the development assistance. In its core part, the thesis describes the evolution of the development assistance with Palestine, follows statistics about provision of the Official Development Aid (ODA) and discusses political and socio-economic implications of the development aid. Moreover, one part is devoted to the Czech development cooperation with Palestine and shows the effect of development aid on concrete project of electrification in Tubas district.