Australian Agency for International Development Director-General Peter Baxter responded to reports that expatriate consultants still receive exorbitant fees despite the government’s vows to crack down on overpaid advisers.
>> AusAID Advisers Still Receive High Salaries, Reports Say
“AusAID has worked very hard to put in place rigorous systems to lower the cost of expatriate advisers to the aid program and also to ensure we get value for money out of those advisers,” said Baxter, as quoted by the Australian Associated Press on July 1.
Baxter added that all except one of the contracts mentioned in the reports were negotiated before a review in AusAID adviser compensation resulted in new salary policies. He added that AusAID will phase out 25 percent of the 952 consulting posts by the end of 2012.
>> AusAID to Ax 257 Adviser Posts After Review Finds ‘Over-reliance’ on Experts
“What we’ve tried to do is bring discipline to an area of the aid program that under successive governments hasn’t had discipline imposed upon it,” Baxter said.
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