The Australian government should commit to a 10-year development and humanitarian program for Afghanistan, a network of Australian aid and development groups has urged.
“Afghanistan is the second poorest country in the world and its people need a long-term aid commitment if their development needs are to be effectively met. This should be a predictable and timetabled pledge to provide at least AUD$100 million per year in development assistance for the next ten years,” Marc Purcell, executive director of the Australian Council for International Development, said in a statement.
Purcell also noted that transparency of the country’s aid spending in Afghanistan is lacking.
“Greater parliamentary scrutiny is needed. The lead taken by Canada, with its quarterly reports to parliament of whole-of-government expenditure, is a worthy example,” Purcell wrote in an opinion piece published in the Australian.
Purcell suggested that a Senate select committee be created to review the future of Australia’s long-term aid to the Asian country.
