In all dictatorships, the ruling regimes are obsessed with controlling information and any institution that can challenge their monopoly of information—whether it is private press, opposition parties or independent civil societies—is brutally suppressed.  The regime in Eritrea is no different and it has followed this path or, as it calls it, “culture.”  The information monopoly enables the regime to withhold information that would expose its suppression and/or incompetence and to exaggerate or take credit for “its” accomplishments.  One of these accomplishments that it brags about often is its alleged ability to develop the nation by relying entirely on its resourcefulness and ingenuity—even when there is quasi-public information that easily contradicts this.  In previous editions, Awate.com exposed this lie.  Faced with this reality, the regime’s media has taken to making vague references to its development “partners”—and in one incident a fews days ago, actually mentioning them by name withour disclosing how much they contributed to the projects that the regime is taking credit for. This is our attempt to shed more light on the issue. The source of our information is, once again, the UN’s Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs and specifically their August 2007 publication with the title of “Report On “Who Does What Where” (3W’s) In Eritrea .

In 2007, 22 GOs (Government Organizations) and NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations) were funding 125 projects in Eritrea to the tune of approximately $75 million USD. 

One of the issues that is clarified in the report is the differences between funds pledged/resourced and funds actually used.  The report indicates that while “some 7.7% of funds are assigned to fourteen (14) projects under the category of “Approved and Awaiting Funding”, “more than 90% of reported project value is within Implementation Stage category—on going in 2007.”  The balance is funds received for projects that were terminated in 2007.   This means that the Eritrean regime received and spent almost $69,000,000 during the first 9 months 2007---while claiming, the entire time, that it receives no funding from anybody.

While the regime is loathe to admit the help it receives from NGOs, when pressed, it says that Eritrea is a poor country that, like all poor countries, needs humanitarian assistance or takes loans.  The impression it wants to leave is that barring for emergency aid and loans, it is not receiving any developmental grants.  But the report categorizes the funding:

                        Humanitarian Relief                                                        18%
                        Recovery, Rehabilitation, Reconstruction (3Rs)                    28%
                        Development                                                                 44%

In fact, of the 125 GO and NGO-funded projects underway in 2007, the breakdown is follows:

                        Humanitarian Relief                                                         33
                        Recovery, Rehabilitation, Reconstruction (3Rs)                    24
                        Development                                                                 68

Aid Amount And Projects By Agency

NGO Activity By Geography 

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