Free-market aid contractors Adam Smith International accused of “trying to deceive MPs”

Date: 5 December 2016

Responding to the Mail on Sunday’s accusations that aid contractors Adam Smith International “tried to deceive MPs and protect their lucrative business by faking glowing testimonials about their work overseas,” Aisha Dodwell, a campaigner on aid from Global Justice Now said:

“These shocking allegations against one of DFID’s biggest private contractors is the latest piece of evidence against the current drive to outsource more of the aid budget to expensive consultants in the UK rather than to address conditions of structural poverty and inequality in countries where it is needed.

“Many UK taxpayers would be genuinely shocked if they knew that hundreds of millions of pounds of aid money was going to ‘free market’ consultants in the UK rather than to alleviate the conditions of poverty of vulnerable communities in the developing world. If aid money was being genuinely used as it should be, to strengthen public services, support civil society, and build democratic and accountable institutions, then there probably wouldn’t be any need for over-paid consultants to falsify positive feedback.

“It’s not just the fact that Adam Smith International have been accused of trying to mislead parliament. The free market reforms that that they are pushing in some countries are based on an outdated and discredited development ideology that has been in no small part responsible for entrenching poverty and exacerbating inequality across the developing world. The reforms around mining that ASI have been pushing in countries like Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea seem to be more concerned about the needs of foreign mining companies while actively undermining the rights of local communities.”

In April 2016, Global Justice Now published the report, The Privatisation of UK aid – How Adam Smith International is profiting from the aid budget.