The Dutch government wants to save 18 billion euros. That means deep budget cuts, ones that are going to be felt particularly by military personnel, artists of all kinds, broadcasting staff, the disabled and those in receipt of benefits.

But impact of these cuts is being felt outside the Netherlands, too. Far beyond its borders in fact: from Asia to Africa to Latin America, and particularly so in developing countries. Yet some development projects are doing surprisingly well on their own.

“Painful,” say Farah Karimi, director of the Oxfam Novib aid organisation, about the cuts. Unlike those who are cutting a bit here, and a bit there, her organisation - which is losing one quarter of its budget - has chosen the radical approach. It's shutting down its operations in Latin America and Central Asia.

While Oxfam Novib will lose its presence in these countries, Ms Karimi says it can benefit from a more centralised focus.

“A better focus has benefits. You can invest in specialisation and that could ultimately prove to the positive benefit from a negative development. We are forced to look more closely at what are our strengths - issues of poverty and injustice. It does have positive aspects.”

Sharper focus  
There has been a unanimous response to the cuts from the three major development organisations in the Netherlands: Oxfam Novib, ICCO and Cordaid. They have all chosen to abandon their operations in certain countries and focus on specialisations in, for example, agricultural development, social entrepreneurship or social participation.

On the one hand, it hurts to leave entire countries or regions. But on the other hand, this revised policy has been in development for several years now. It only needed a push for it to be implemented.

In 2010, ICCO received a 131-million euro grant from the Dutch government. In 2011 the subsidy was just 76 million. The organisation had to cease operations in Cameroon, a move that led to the discontinuation of a major project for certified timber.

“It’s a pity,” says Peter Oomen, regional manager for ICCO in Mali. The group had invested a lot in the promising project.

“They were on the verge of certifying their forestry sector there. That means that logging for timber doesn't have to mean the destruction of an entire forest. For me, the question is whether these communities can do it by themselves, especially so with illegal logging being a real threat in a country like Cameroon.”

On their own
Howver, Peter Oomen also acknowledges that putting a stop to aid does not automatically lead to the collapse of every project. A health project in Ghana, for example, would be well able to continue independently.

“The partners there are actually already quite capable of going to their own government for money, or other financial donors [...] Us pulling out of there wouldn't be such a problem.”

Political cooperation
Nico van Leeuwen, Cordaid’s coordinator for Central America, says there's an additional threat to Dutch aid programmes: the closre of Dutch diplomatic missions. The loss of a local Dutch embassy ends the cooperation between that diplomatic mission, Cordaid and local NGOs.

In Guatemala, for example, this is the reason why a joint project aimed at getting people involved in local politics by investing in social legislation and fighting corruption will be terminated completely in two years' time. 

Nico van Leeuwen says: “I think this is one of the best examples of how a bilateral programme and co-financing programme should work together. The embassy assesses the situation and plays a supervisory role in which it reflects government policy, while we are rooted in society. Democratic processes work in situations where society and government come together.”

And the processes in question have proven to be extremely fragile - falling apart when one part of the puzzle is removed. Nico van Leeuwen says the Netherlands' gradual loss of influence is already noticeable. In those countries where embassies have been closed the Netherlands can no longer exert political pressure.

Leaving a country is never easy, says Oxfam Novib’s Farah Karimi. Her worries about the capabilities of local organisations to take over and continue her organisation's activities are shared by ICCO and Cordaid. After all, the Netherlands is not the only country where development aid is being cut. 

(lo/tf)