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arrival, the Marriott Brigade had alienated

Three consulting consortia led by Big Six

many of the people it was trying to help. Polish

accounting firms (Coopers & Lybrand, KPMG

aid official Marek Kozak even suggested that

Peat Marwick, and Deloitte & Touche) formed

the main benefit derived from the Marriott

the cornerstone of the U.S. privatization assis-

tance to Central and Eastern Europe.9

Brigade was not the expertise they provided

but the hard currency they contributed to the

The IQC program worked especially poorly

local economy.5 In 1993 then Czech prime

when consultants worked directly with an

enterprise, because they functioned largely

minister Václav Klaus added, "What we really

independently of the ministries responsible

need--instead of aid--is exchange. . . . We do

for privatization. Although each government

not need one-way transfers because they tend

in the region had set up an office to plan and

to be misused, misdirected, or misplaced. They

manage privatization, U.S. AID did not

are usually not taken seriously by either side. I

require or necessarily even encourage U.S. con-

have in mind financial aid, gifts, technical

tractors to work with those offices. Instead,

assistance, and consulting."6

consultants saw themselves as working for the

One problem was that the majority of

donor agencies that paid them--rather than

those consultants were "fly-in, fly-out" advis-

on behalf of the recipient enterprises and min-

ers who visited the region for a short time,

istries that ostensibly needed their services.

developed weak links with recipients, and

Recipient officials found they had little

knew little of the countries they were trying to

authority to assess the work of U.S. AID­paid

help. The U.S. General Accounting Office con-

consultants, determine schedules, or termi-

firmed Polish officials' reports that "early tech-

nate a contract for nonperformance or poor

nical assistance in the banking sector resulted

performance. Some consultants' reports even

in many consultants coming to Warsaw for

were addressed to U.S. AID in Washington,

one- or two-week stays, interviewing officials,

not to the local officials who supposedly were

and producing reports that merely repeated

the beneficiaries. Polish Ministry of Industry

what they had been told."7 As a result, the con-

official Marek Krawczuk said that this was like

sultants' ostensible clients--the recipients--

"a surgeon who comes, does his work without

often considered the consultants redundant

talking with the patient, and leaves without

and even meddlesome. As a Slovak aid official

checking to see whether the operation was

put it, "The Western consultants collect infor-

successful."10

mation, get the picture, then they go home.

. . . We are solving the West's unemployment in

Another major problem with U.S. privati-

this way. . . . We get calls from ministries that

zation aid to Central Europe was that it

U.S. privatization

receive consultants from all over asking if aid

appeared to be an end in itself and often did

can be reduced."8 What went wrong?

not lead to competition among firms or other

aid to Central

crucial market activity. According to donors, a

Europe appeared

Ad Hoc Privatization Aid

major advantage of hiring consultants from

the Big Six accounting firms was that they had

U.S. privatization aid to Central Europe,

to be an end in

contacts with potential Western investors. Yet

which was to be directed to "private" entities,

itself and often did

the link between technical assistance and

often circumvented the host government bod-

not lead to compe-

investment was often missing; there was a dis-

ies responsible for privatization. Privatization

connect between consultants' activities at the

aid was set up to be ad hoc, and it was largely

tition among firms

enterprise level and activities that might have

structured to work around, rather than in

or other crucial

led to investment. Central and Eastern

coordination with, the privatization processes

market activity.

European officials frequently complained that

it was supposed to help.

little concrete investment activity followed

That problem was compounded by the way

from consultants' reports. The Slovak

in which the U.S. Agency for International

Privatization Ministry hoped that one report,

Development's Indefinite Quantity Contracts

produced by Deloitte & Touche and funded by

(IQC) program structured aid to the region.

3