Interview with Andrew Mitchell

Status: Completed
Andrew Mitchell
Secretary of State for International Development
United Kingdom
Areas of expertise: Aid Effectiveness, Transparency, accountability and evaluation, maternal health, private sector development

Andrew Mitchell MP is Member of Parliament for Sutton Coldfield and was appointed Secretary of State for International Development on 12 May 2010. Since taking office at DFID, he has pioneered a new approach to development, based on the understanding that aid is a means to an end, not an end in itself.  

He has prioritised transparency and value for money in aid, instigating in his first months in office the UK Aid Transparency Guarantee, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact and three rigorous reviews of bilateral, multilateral and humanitarian aid. He has also focused on the role of the private sector in development, setting up a new division within DFID to focus specifically on encouraging more private investment in poor countries to generate growth, jobs and trade. Equally, he has put investment in girls and women at the heart of everything the department does. 

Mr. Mitchell was a United Nations peacekeeper in Cyprus during the 1970s, serving as a member of the Royal Tank Regiment of the British Army, and went on to work and travel extensively in Africa and Asia for the investment bank Lazard. 

Mr Mitchell was the Member of Parliament for Gedling, Nottinghamshire, between 1987 and 1997 and during that period held posts across government including at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Government Whips Office, and the Department of Social Security. He was subsequently elected as MP for Sutton Coldfield in 2001 and served as Shadow Secretary of State for International Development from 2005 to 2010.


All Questions
Paul Georgie
United Kingdom 		What effort to engage with local organisations to understand what SME markets are successful?, i.e. with aims of sustainability, future demand, and niche markets? Where can local people in low income areas, particularly women, go to become more knowledgeable as to what works in their area. Use GIS!
Andre Budianto S
Indonesia 		I would like to know what's your priority in International cooperation in order to the country's dignity.
Jonathan D. Algar
United Kingdom 		Can food security be achieved within current architecture of global food mkts? Are recent levels of volatility worrying?
Lloyd Mayala Matondo
United Kingdom 		my question is, Does the DFID plan to help youth association of Human right and Democracy in the Democratic Republic of the congo if yes please could you select my association I build into the Congo
Yangki Imade Suara
Indonesia 		In term of transparancy, how did you dealed with the transparancy when you are giving aid to dictatorial government? There's so much hidden things in the dictatorial government.
mutinta chisamu
Zambia 		why is that despite all the effort made by developing countries to develop their still remain underdeveloped is it because of their dependency of the west
Halim
Turkey 		In what conditions does the international community support development of developing countries? Do you think international community should support economic development neutral to political developments in developing countries, say in the Middle East?
Myeong Seolmae
Korea, Rep. 		What especially do you take into consideration when encouraging more private investment in poor countries to generate growth, jobs and trade? What is your motivation when deciding to put investment in girls and women at the heart of everything the department does?
Evident
South Africa 		how can you create jobs if there is no grouth?
Dorian LaGuardia
Italy 		How far do we still need to go with impact assessment? Which tools and/or approaches need to be better used/promoted? How will these better capture the complexities of international cooperation and development?
Sarah Brand
United Kingdom 		Does prioritizing proving impacts and results risk circumventing the possibility of genuine participation by beneficiaries and downward accountability - as the measurement of results seems to always be defined by the donor?
Mr.Gemechu Shale
Ethiopia 		How do you explain the negative impacts of privatization of public firms on the livelihood of citizens in developing countries?
Julia Modern
United Kingdom 		In 2010 the World Bank pledged to lend $750 million more to education by 2015, but this pledge is not being delivered. What will you do to ensure the World Bank maintains a focus on education, which is one of the fundamental drivers of economic growth?
Mushtaq Ghumman
Pakistan 		Sir Our Finance Minister is Washington, please suggest him to resolve the issue of inter-circular debt which has deprived the countrymen from electricity. Regards
José Rabello
Brazil 		Africa could be included in the effort to produce biofuels? Africa could help the world and itself as a producer of biofuels; this would even establish a momentum for producing a more successful agriculture for food in the region.
Mark A. Rondot
France 		Why is there still famine in Africa today?
Janika Hauser
United Kingdom 		Should international aid focus on increasing productivity in the developing world or reassessing consumption and how we pay for it in the west? Can we fix the problem with the mindset that created it?
BERTHOLD MWESIGWA
Tanzania 		What strategies do you think developing countries should do to become economical sustainable considering that, their dependence on foreign aid is now weaken by Austerity measures the developed nations are undertaking to strengthen their fiscal position?
Harikrishnan
India 		What is the justification for giving aid to a country like India, which itself many times made it clear that we no longer need assistance from UK?
Prince Foday
United Kingdom 		Looking at the high level of corruption in Africa and the fact that a large proportion of development aids are used on administration and siphoned to private pockets,what strategies can be put in place to minimise such discrepancies?