Large areas of the aid system are in urgent need of reform

The government has been accused of wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds of African aid in Malawi.

BBC's Five Live Report found more than GBP 700,000 was spent on hotel bills and meals for US workers over four years. BBC Aug 28, 2005 report excerpts:

The National Audit Office said it may mount an investigation into the use of consultants by the Department for International Development (DFID).

One project in Malawi funded by the DFID has been accused of using international flights to fly in pens and notebooks bought in Washington DC.

Patrick Watt of charity Action Aid said: "(This is) another example of aid money not really getting down to people who most urgently need to benefit from it."

He said: "It's an example of phantom aid, when what Malawi needs is real aid."

Conservative international development spokesman Andrew Mitchell said there appears to have been a breakdown in "transparency and accountability".

"DFID need to get a grip and explain what has happened," Mr Mitchell said.

US agencies which had been brought in as consultants included the National Democratic Institute (NDI), used on a project to improve the parliamentary committee system in Malawi.

The GBP 1m donated to the project from US funds was used solely to pay for NDI staff there, the BBC report said.

Over the four years of the project, the DFID donated GBP 3m to the project. Of that, GBP 586,423 was spent on hotels in Malawi for the NDI staff. Another GBP 126,062 was spent on meals.

An ex-staff member said computers, notebooks and other stationery had been bought in Washington DC and flown over rather than bought locally.

World Learning, a US group which had been brought in to distribute GBP 4m of British money to strengthen Malawian society had to cancel the project after six months and a cost of GBP 300,000. Dozens of local staff face losing their jobs.

Mr Watt said the large amounts of money spent of administration and overseas staff meant "there are large areas of the aid system that are in urgent need of reform".

Malawian campaigner Rafiq Hajat said: "Where you have so-called experts who come from outside, charge exorbitant fees, live a five-star lifestyle and then go back having left a couple of reports mouldering on the shelf, that's how I would define phantom aid."