Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the UK is taking to promote good governance and anti-corruption initiatives in (a) Jordan, (b) Gaza and the West Bank, (c) Turkey, (d) Nigeria, (e) Tunisia and (f) Mali.

a) The UK is supporting political and economic reform in Jordan through the Arab Partnership, including support to committees in parliament to improve the quality of legislation and support improvements to parliamentary procedures. We are also working with different groups across Jordanian governorates to build concepts of good governance, including forming counsels from the local communities that work to monitor the performance of local governance institutions against its roles and responsibilities.

b) The UK is helping the Palestinian Authority (PA) to build strong institutions and deliver essential services. Our support is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding which reaffirms the PA’s commitment to non-violence and a negotiated two-state solution, as well as its respect for human rights and delivering clean and accountable governance in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We are also helping deliver institutional reform and improve public financial management, and working with civil society to help citizens become more effective at holding the PA to account.

c) DFID does not does not have any anti-corruption or good governance programmes in Turkey.

d) The UK promotes good governance and anti-corruption in Nigeria through a range of technical assistance programmes which support democratisation, better use of Nigerian resources, improved transparency in the oil sector, increased capacity of civil society and more robust enforcement of anti-corruption legislation. No UK aid money goes directly to the Government of Nigeria to ward against corruption.

e) Since the revolution, UK funded programmes in Tunisia have supported the development and application of a code of conduct for public servants, have strengthened risk management, audit practices and the development of a whistle blowing framework, and have enhanced transparent public procurement. The UK has also supported the development of an anti-corruption strategy and strengthened the role of the National Anti-Corruption Agency.

f) DFID and FCO have developed a cross-governmental strategy to support effective, prioritised and coordinated action at the international and multilateral level to strengthen governance in Mali and the wider Sahel region. Our objective is to ensure that Sahelian States, including Mali, have governments that are politically inclusive, able to deliver basic services, enable growing prosperity and cooperate regionally.