Civil launch major attack on aid money

It sounds like a threat: "The SDC need to dress warmly", says SVP-national Council Andreas Glarner. What is meant is the Directorate for development and cooperation. Glarner wants to ensure that the SVP in the election year of 2019 with a focus on the development aid of the Federal government. And the beginning is already made. The party leaders agreed yesterday on the Bad-Horn meeting the Plan to 1 billion Swiss francs from the development and asylum aid in the AHV move. The SVP checks even to launch a public initiative. In the case of development aid, but it is more than reductions, the SVP wants to dig deeper.

According to Glarner, who is the SVP for the asylum and migration dossier must be lit, the SDC projects, and, where necessary, the SVP of string to the request. Apart the party, it is about cultural projects, the SDC issues a year 4 to 6 million. Of Mario to benefit nice player and painter in Tanzania, the people's theatre in Mali and Uzbekistan, or young artists in Moldova. The SDC-25 000 francs for a presence of talent with the Philharmonic orchestra. "With development assistance, this has nothing to do with it," says Glarner. "It can't be that at the same time in Burkina Faso, children are starving to death."

Syria to help the 1% of the SDC budget

In the SVP to distribute the funds differently. "We can't save the whole world," says Glarner. "There, where the help is needed most, we make the least." In Yemen, where a cruel war was raging, raft last year, with 15 million francs, a relatively small amount. When the conflict in Syria, the Department of foreign Affairs (FDFA), emphasized that since the beginning of the war, 376 million, were spoken. In the past year, the humanitarian aid was, however, only 29 million. That's the equivalent of just about 1.5 percent of the annual SDC total budget of around 2 billion.

often conspicuously SVP come to talk to politicians on the alleged charges of excesses, without evidence. To travel from SDC to people at conferences with overnight Stays in five-star hotels. "If possible, we should set the financial control on the SDC," says Glarner.

"Switzerland has to change its development aid."Philipp Müller, FDP Council of States

in order To launched the fight for the development assistance billion. The foreign Minister, Ignazio Cassis is currently preparing the next four-year budget, in the spring of the consultation process starts. He said already, he did not want to shorten the posts – but redistribute. Instead of to Latin America or East Asia, more resources will flow to Africa and the Middle East. But not only is the SVP gets loud after a tag FDP and CVP .

"Switzerland has to change its development aid fundamentally," says the FDP Council of States Philipp Müller. He is in favour of a reduction of expenditure and refers to the Kenyan James Shikwati Economists. According to Shikwati more than a trillion dollars in the last 50 years of development assistance to Africa flowed and would have barely achieved something. "If it comes to it, can save the West the funds, because they suffocate in Africa, any self-responsibility of people in the Bud," says Müller. He calls, therefore, for a focus of development assistance. "The best thing is, if Switzerland is concentrated only on the countries in which you also can achieve something." According to Müller, one should take the deceased doctor Beat Richner, the built in Cambodia children's hospitals.

CVP national councillor wishes "silk road of Switzerland,"

Even the CVP recognise a need for action. "It is a Reform of the development is in need of help, the acceptance in the Swiss population, and to maintain," says national councillor Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter. By Motion, you recently launched a proposal for a compromise: development aid should be reduced, but in the future, the focus on regions will be aligned, to expect what are the migration flows. In addition, Schneider-Schneiter wants to involve the private sector more. "To me, a silk road of Switzerland in mind." Swiss companies are encouraged, increasingly, to invest in fragile States. To do this, the Federal government should improve the framework conditions. The example of China, which drives billions in investment, development along the silk road.

(Sunday newspaper)

Created: 06.01.2019, 08:27 PM