Bush aid plan for poorer nations called 'leverage' against corruption
Regional-USA, Economics, 3/25/2002

US President Bush's plan to increase U.S. foreign aid to the developing world will go only to those countries with "just, representative" governments that respect human rights, says Otto Reich, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs.

Interviewed March 22 at the conclusion of the United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico, Reich said there is no "silver bullet" in the battle against world poverty, a problem that he said that afflicted humanity since biblical times.

But the proposed U.S. boost in aid is a "major step forward, not just because of the money, which is significant," but as a force for needed changes in the way governments do business, said Reich. He repeated President Bush's conclusion that the United States has given tremendous sums of foreign aid for many decades "and a lot of that money has disappeared. So, the best thing we can do is use our money as leverage to bring about economic, political, and social reforms" in the developing world.

Bush, said the assistant secretary, has vowed that the United States will not give money to leaders of other countries "who throw it away, either through corruption or through poor economic policies."

Reich pledged that "we are going to help the poorest countries of the world, but only if those governments are just, represent their citizens, and respect human rights." Without that, he asserted, "there's not going to be economic development and prosperity" in the world's poorer nations.

The United States can counteract corrupt foreign leaders by being more vigilant and by "making sure that our money is put to the proper uses," Reich said. He added that the Bush administration will not help those leaders "who have abused their power, who have taken (foreign aid money) from the people and, in many cases, taken food literally from the mouths of children."

"At the very least," Reich said, "we are going to use our laws" to keep corrupt leaders from coming to the United States, "just as we keep out war criminals, narcotics traffickers, or other undesirables."

Reich was asked to explain the Bush administration's yardstick for determining how developing nations are progressing against corruption.

In that regard, he said a country's gross domestic product (GDP) or per capita income are unreliable measuring tools, as the figures can be skewed by a few wealthy individuals raising the average income level in a country which is predominantly poor. A more accurate measure, Reich said, is to examine how a country's population and institutions are benefiting from U.S. aid. By this, he explained, the Bush administration wants to see improved social-economic indicators, lower infant mortality rates, higher literacy rates, a greater number of doctors and hospital beds per capita, and more children staying in school longer.

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