observer Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Due to the economic crisis, the Government are considering reducing OUR overseas aid - good or bad move? . One wonders why we give cash to China and India, both now with their own space programmes? Keep funding Zimbawe, when Mugabe insists on wrecking their agricultural base and economy? It's even been suggested, that those poor Somali pirates wouldn't be naughty anymore, if we started giving them aid! So does "aid" merely create "aid dependency", and represent money "down the drain"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Kennedy Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 I sense rather too much of the aid gets diverted to the bank accounts of despotic leaders...whilst their citizens starve. The old saying "charity starts at home" might be appropriate, and certainly much tighter controls on any aid that we do give...and in fairness some aid is justified to those folk who are suffering natural disasters etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Given the state of our economy we should stop giving aid and ask for some of it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Kennedy Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 This from a Tory MP on Conservative Home: By Daniel Kawczynski MP. I recently returned from an International Development Select Committee trip to Kenya and Tanzania. We currently give Kenya and Tanzania ?50 million and ?150 million respectively each year in international aid, yet a great deal of what our money is being used for in Kenya could easily be provided by Microfinance. All the local newspapers in Nairobi during our stay had stories about how the President and senior ministers are about to spend ?100 million on buying new helicopters for themselves from Russia. Can an incoming Conservative government really continue to give so much to Kenya? British pensioners are cutting back on meals to save money as Kenya spends so much on luxuries for its government. And guess what the monthly salary and expenses package is for a Kenyan MP? It is ?8,000! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevofaz25 Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Surely the time has come for us to invite countries in the developing world to bid for funding instead of us just throwing money at them. That way we could weed out the regimes who are conning us and make sure the money is paid over to the neediest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted April 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Just simply stop it - unless it's used in a way that international agencies can target the funds to point of need and also to build a capacity for a self sustainable economy. Zimbawe's white farmers, used to produce a wealth of food, making it renown as the "bread basket" of Africa; Mugabe's redistribution policies in giving the land to his lazy, incompetant supporters has destroyed all that - so sorry - no more money for his Swiss bank account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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