Samenvatting

Development aid is a sector that raises many discussions on whether it stimulates a developing country, or holds back economic progress. Most discussions are about bilateral aid, aid given from the government of a donor country, for example the Netherlands, to a government of a partner country, for example Rwanda. When there is no such thing as 'good governance' there is a big chance that corruption will arise. For this reason it is important for donor countries to have a sufficient Development Cooperation Policy and cooperate closely with the recipient countries, and their governments.
The Netherlands has changed their Development Cooperation Policy many times from the end of the Second World War until now. It is interesting to understand more about the reasons for changing the Development Cooperation Policy in the Netherlands, and to know what these changes include. The former cabinet Rutte has made the most recent changes in the Development Cooperation Policy, which are influenced by the economic crisis. The reduction of the total Official Development Aid (ODA) budget and the introduction of the four spearheads; Security and legal order, Food security, Water and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), are the biggest changes made by the cabinet Rutte in 2011. These recent changes form the basis for the main question of this report; "What are the consequences and benefits for the African countries, Rwanda and Mozambique, after the Dutch government recently changed the Development Cooperation Policy?"
The discussion about development aid, in particular bilateral aid, whether it stimulates the economic process of a developing country or not, will always exist. Questions like "Does aid really work?" are just too broad to provide with a clear answer. There will always be experts who will argue about different solutions for the developing countries. However, every developing country needs a different approach and has its own needs. Therefore it is important to customize the Development Cooperation Policy so that it can be of use in every partner country.
In history, the Netherlands has changed their Development Cooperation Policy many times. This is, because people got more knowledge and expertise about the developing countries and the Dutch government saw that poverty reduction and economic stability were the most important factors in the process of development cooperation. Furthermore, the different cabinets in Dutch politics are also a reason for the many changes in the policy. Every cabinet has its own expertise that they combined with the knowledge of former cabinets and international organizations, such as the World Bank.
The countries Rwanda and Mozambique have been partner countries of the Netherlands for a long period and are included as one of the 15 partner countries after changing the policy. With the recent changes in the Development Cooperation Policy, there will be some consequences and benefits for Rwanda and Mozambique. Because of the economic crisis, the budget for bilateral aid towards both countries will be reduced. This could influence the results and economic progress in these countries. However, the four spearheads make it possible to have a better focus and approach within the field of expertise of the Netherlands. The four spearheads also will increase the cooperation between the Netherlands and the partner countries. Moreover, when results are more visible, the civil society in the Netherlands and in the partner countries will have more interest and give more support towards development aid. Furthermore, the private sector will increase its support as well when the focus is on the economic sector and results are made visible. Collaboration with the partner countries, other donor countries, NGOs and the private sector is the key to success.