Thank you, Madam Chair.
Mr. Moloney, welcome to our committee. This isn't the first time you've been here, but it's the first time in this capacity. Thank you for coming. We appreciate your testimony whenever you come.
I was sharing with you before the committee started that I spent some time in Kenya last summer and had an opportunity to see the folks on the ground. I was there in a private capacity with a local organizing group from my community to alleviate some of the poverty that had developed as a result of a two-year famine that has stretched over a good portion of Kenya and some of the surrounding countries. We saw folks on the ground and the effect of services they were providing.
It was interesting, when I had an opportunity to meet with some of the CIDA officials at the high commission there. At that point I think they were negotiating a partnership with other countries to alleviate some of the hunger that had been developing. We heard the announcement shortly after we returned to Canada that an allocation of about $30 million was going toward immediate alleviation of hunger by feeding those people. I can't express to you enough my thanks for those dollars.
We actually witnessed young kids who were starving to death. We were working to do our part, but when CIDA was able to come forward with those funds and the partnership that was developed with other countries, it truly made the difference. I heard from the folks on the ground, who were still there after we left, that the food came at the right time and many lives were saved. So we salute the folks in CIDA for their foresight and ability to manoeuvre when the time presents itself.
I think one of the most important things I gained from your testimony was when I heard there was going to be a reduction in the time CIDA was going to take to facilitate some of these agreements and different things. I wonder if you could speak specifically to the effort being made to sharply cut down on the time allocated to make the decisions to get this aid out, and exactly how that will affect the service CIDA is able to provide for people on the ground.