Accra, Sept 5 (IPS) A government minister from the world’s youngest nation – and also one of its poorest – told a meeting of powerful global bankers today exactly how hard it is to extract aid from rich countries.

Emilia Pires, Minister of Finance of Timor Leste – or East Timor – told the 3rd High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in the Ghanaian capital yesterday conditionalities and bureaucracy made it difficult to obtain foreign aid that is sorely needed to develop her country.

Accra, Sept 5 (IPS) Delegates from both developing and developed countries yesterday adopted an Accra Agenda For Action (AAA) as a blueprint to provide a guide to improve the way aid is given and spent.

The document was adopted at the close of a three-day High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness which drew over 1200 delegates from about 120 to the Ghanaian capital.

Accra, Sept 5 (IPS) The ecological impact of natural resource exploitation on the lives of the poor in Africa and other regions is being not addressed sufficiently in aid effectiveness and development discussions, aid experts say.

“Africa is known as one of the richest parts of the world when it comes to natural resources, yet it is also the poorest region — despite the natural wealth and the aid flow,” said Charles Mutasa

Accra, Sep 4 (IPS) The President of Ghana, host to a global aid meet, told gathered ministers here today delays by rich nations in releasing aid money were threatening democratic governments in poor countries.

At the same time, he said Ghana – “in time – wanted to stop being an aid-dependent nation.

“Many recipient nations have established various frameworks for financial monitoring and accountability and procurement process,” John Kufuor said

“What we have is nice, slightly fuzzy and positive language, but there is no monitorable timetable-bound commitment.”

Aid is supposed to promote human rights. And human rights are supposed to make aid more effective. But what do you do when governments refuse to act?

Regimes that create conditions for aid to be blocked to their countries should be confronted by strengthening domestic civil societies who would challenge their bad ways, says Robert Fox, executive director of Oxfam Canada.

Alignment calls for donors to support the recipient country’s national development strategies, institutions and procedures to alleviate poverty within the recipient country.

Civil society is concerned that real political differences are “threatening our hopes of achieving the 2010 benchmarks” for aid effectiveness, Paul O’Brien, director of the Aid Effectiveness Team at Oxfam, warned participants at the round table discussion on alignment of aid yesterday.