While I am fine with immediate emergency relief in the event of disasters, I have always objected to the idea that we, the UK taxpayer, should be pissing money away to countries just because.
And this little story is a microcosm of the sheer mendacity of the whole thing:
British taxpayers’ money will no longer be used to fund the project behind an Ethiopian girl band, the Department for International Development (DfID) has said.
The five-piece pop group Yegna was formed as part of the Girl Effect programme and officials had previously praised the impact the project was having.
But International Development Secretary Priti Patel was challenged about a reported £5.2m grant to the scheme when she appeared before MPs in December and indicated that the programme was under review.
Understandably, when this came to light, UK taxpayers were incensed – well, I was. This is not what aid is supposed to be for. And, if this is what the money is being used for, we should stop giving it. The egregious arrangements whereby we automatically hand over a percentage of GDP is a hangover from Nick Clegg, who seemed to think that we have nothing better to do with our money than pissing it away on Africa. Well, frankly, if you leave it in my pocket instead of stealing it with menaces, I can find plenty of things to spend it on that doesn’t mean wasting it – and not one groat will go to Africa.
So, what we need is an immediate cessation of all foreign aid and a corresponding reduction in the tax take. Now!
I agree, stop it all.
Foreign aid has been described as taking money from poor people in rich countries and giving it to rich people in poor countries. The more I learn about foreign aid, the more I think that cynical description is true.
How about the people responsible pay back the 5.2 million out of their own pockets? It is far too easy to be generous with other people’s money.
I’m also totally fed up with being chugged by the television throughout the Christmas holidays. Apparently some African countries that are starting to see some level of development don’t like them either. They have a problem with their country being depicted as a poverty ridden shithole when, actually, it isn’t any more.
So, what we need is an immediate cessation of all foreign aid and a corresponding reduction in the tax take. Now!
+1
Shut DFiD is still best solution. Sack them all, no redeploying jobs or functions/policies.
So, what we need is an immediate cessation of all foreign aid and a corresponding reduction in the tax take. Now!
Stop interfering in other countries internal affairs – that’s UN & IMF job.
“Stop interfering in other countries internal affairs – that’s UN & IMF job.”
You left out the CIA.
Snark!
Using other people’s money for other people and claim the credit – the virtue signaller’s charter.