Guest 645- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,463
#1
As we are constantly reminded by politicians to tighten our belts as cuts to our services bite hard you may wish to learn that the UK spent or should I say wasted £1.4 billion on overseas 'useless' aid they included:
Funding for Belgians to give dance lessons in Burkina Faso despite half the population living on 70p a day.
An £8.8million centre in Mali to help people get legal jobs in the EU - which found work for only six people in three years.
A medical centre in Sierra Leone which was largely unused and had hundreds of hospital beds donated by the UN left outside to rot.
The report also claimed huge sums had gone straight into the coffers of governments whose record on human rights has been internationally condemned.
They include Malawi which recently drafted a law to criminalise flatulence in public places, restrict media freedom and punish homosexuals with up to 14 years hard labour. Its president bought a multi-million pound presidential jet after a transfer of EU aid although more than 60 per cent of the people live on less than £1 a day.
It makes one despair about our elected representatives and what they use for brains or common sense.
Marek
I think therefore I am (not a Tory supporter)
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
#2
interesting and amusing stuff there, i suppose that the malawi authorities base their law on "an ill wind brings nobody any good".
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
#3
What Marek is not saying of course is that the report is by the EU Court of Auditors EU aid.
20% of the UK aid budget is channelled via the EU. These spending decisions were made in Brussels not London and certainly not by UK politicians. I would love to have a go at Labour over this as it refers to decisions made in their time but sadly they would be the wrong targets in this case.
One thing is sure, the UK aid budget should not be ring-fenced and should be cut nevertheless.
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
#4
Barry, without going into the merit of the discussion on whether the oversees aid money is wasted or not, I do feel the need to inform you that the spending on oversees aid is a 100% decision of the present Government, and has nought to do with Labour, which is out of government for one year now.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
#5
Alexander - 20% of the UK Overseas Aid budget is spent by the EU and the specific issues identified by Marek were all regarding the EU budget not the UK one as determined by EU beaurocrats.
I am not suggesting the UK OA budget is much better spent but it certainly cannot be worse ...