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Department for International Development

• Development Assistance in Iraq: Interim Report (Jan 2005)

  Report presented to the House of Commons International Development Committe. Notes the difficulties of the conditions that DfID are working in, and hence the lack of analysis from NGOs and government agencies that it would normally expect. Oral evidence includes statements by Jim Drummond, head of DfID's Iraq Directorate, Mr Michael Anderson, Head, Middle East and North Africa Department, andMrDavid Hallam, Iraq Senior Programme Manager, Department for International Development,

  Mr Quentin Davies: "it is quite clear to me that a lot of the money being spent by DFID is quite inconsistent with the principles in the 1998 Act of Parliament which governs your existence which says that you can only spend money on poverty reduction because a lot of the money is being spent, and I think very sensibly spent, on capacity building, that is to say, advice, consultancy to the Iraqi administration. The Adam Smith Institute, for example, has a contract from DFID to help restructure some of the Iraqi ministries, in fact physically restructure them, even suggesting how the minister’s office should be laid out, I discovered, but most importantly, of course, what kind of tasks, what kind of functions, what kind of capabilities were required and giving advice on decision-making procedures and so forth, but it is not poverty reduction except by an extraordinary leap of the the imagination."

  "DFID has also developed a “National Programme” primarily to provide advice to the new IIG on core central government functions. DFID has a £3 million programme to assist the IIG in the design and implementation of essential economic reform programmes, which will also help Iraqin its negotiations for a debt-reduction package. DFID has also provided over £3 million towards an IMF technical assistance package for Iraq. This support has provided training for Iraqi oYcials in a wide range of public financial management areas."

• Iraq Country Assistance Plan (19 Feb 2004)

  20-page document laying out the DFID's plan for assistance to Iraq until March 2005. Also includes a useful summary of social and economic conditions in early 2003. According to the plan, most British aid for humanitarian and relief projects is channeled through the ICRC and other NGOs. The DFID retains for itself direct control of governance and society-building projects, where it foresees an activist role for itself. DFID priorities will include improving government statistics and transparency, consolidating the budget process, encouraging government action to protect the poor and vulnerable, and changing the government role from that of command and control to that of 'regulator and facilitator within a market-based system'. An Arabic version is also available.

• Iraq Updates

  Summaries (in PDF format) of DFID's work in Iraq. Generally upbeat, with photos and human interest stories showing the successes of DFID projects in Iraq. They seem to be produced monthly now, although in the past they have appeared more frequently. The most recent update can always be found here.

• Procurement contracts for Iraq

  Lists of contracts let by DfID's procurement department in the last two calendar years. For example, in November 2005 a contract for £349,538 was let to Adam Smith International Ltd for 'Economic Reform Programme II'.