Democracy-building efforts hampered by agency turf battles

U.S. projects to strengthen democracy in six Latin American countries over the past decade have suffered because of squabbling among the federal agencies involved, according to a new General Accounting Office report.

The report may have implications for U.S. aid agencies working to develop democratic governments in Afghanistan, Iraq and other areas.

The State Department, Justice Department and U.S. Agency for International Development failed to coordinate programs to promote fair elections, democratic legal systems and human rights in the Latin American nations, the report (GAO-03-358) said. From 1992 to 2002, the U.S. government spent roughly $580 million on promoting democratic principles in Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Peru. GAO's report looks at whether the government used this money wisely, and is based on interviews conducted from August 2001 to December 2002 with agency officials, Latin American government officials, nongovernmental organizations and nonprofits involved in administering aid.

Overseas aid programs were relatively successful at improving criminal justice systems in five of the six countries included in the report, GAO said. They also helped the foreign governments conduct more transparent financial transactions and encouraged them to concentrate on human rights issues. But these positive results were not necessarily sustainable, in part because the host governments were reluctant to support programs after the U.S. aid workers left, according to the report.

The results would have been better if U.S. aid agencies pooled their resources and worked more efficiently, GAO concluded. "According to U.S. officials, the relationship among implementing agencies has often been characterized more by competition than by cooperation, which has led to fragmented programs that are not always mutually supportive in achieving common goals," the report said.

For instance, poor communication and disputes among AID and the State and Justice departments hindered a project to assist law enforcement officials in Bolivia. The agencies argued about funding and staffing, according to GAO, making it difficult to move the program forward.

Agencies also need to consider collaborating with nongovernment aid workers to a greater degree, the report recommended. "By not addressing and building on potentially complementary programs of other international donors-some of which receive considerable funding from the United States-agencies risk overlooking critical resources that can be used to meet the strategic goal of democracy promotion."

In addition, State, Justice and AID lacked strategic plans for programs to strengthen democracy, the report said. Though they identified "promoting democracy abroad" as a goal, they did not develop any plans for reaching the goal, a requirement under the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act.

The agencies also should develop a more formal method of evaluating projects, both while work is in progress and after completion, GAO said. They could then share lessons learned with one another. "Lessons learned are potentially a powerful method of sharing ideas for improving work processes, program design and implementation, and cost-effectiveness," the report said.

AID, for example, developed a comprehensive set of handbooks and manuals aimed at educating local municipal officials in Bolivia about democratic concepts, but the handbooks are not "part of any central repository" at AID and therefore are not available for other foreign aid workers' reference.

The agencies agreed with the report in general and said they already have plans to address some of its recommendations. For instance, the State Department said it is working with AID and the Justice Department to devise better ways of evaluating some projects.