The media, especially print media, led by Daily Mail and Daily Express, have carried out long and dedicated campaign against huge overseas aid budget approaching £14 billion that the government find it difficult to spend wisely, some aid even going to super rich China who has its own multi billion aid budget and Argentina with whom we have strained relations over Falkland Islands.
At last the campaign, fully supported by majority of the public has persuaded PM to change course, swap “Aid for Trade” that will help Britain, especially our manufacturing industry that is in perpetual decline, if the aid is spent wisely with the full cooperation of British firms.
PM wants to use aid to tackle corruption, participate in modernising infrastructure, help agriculture sector to make country self-sufficient in food and help British firms to set up, participate in local industries, as well as give boost to British exports in a free and fair trade that has been neglected, in perpetual decline for the last few decades, the vacuum being filled by cheap, subsidized goods from China whose export to African continent has increased tenfold in recent times.
In a speech in Cape Town, PM hinted that she is unashamed about the need to ensure our aid programme works for Britain that it meets global challenges and in line with other countries support our own national interest first and foremost with the hope that this policy will unleash the enterprising spirit that this country was blessed with not long ago.
Let us hope that our aid will create jobs in Africa, improve their economy and prosperity that will tackle education, health, unemployment and migration. Although we boast that our economy is the fifth largest economy in the world, India will soon overtake Britain, pushing us in sixth place. However living standard is the right barometer and we do not make the top ten, perhaps not even top twenty, nations like Norway, Switzerland, Scandinavia and many more enjoy better living standard than us. Unless we stop our hotchpotch policy of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and shed our holier than thou attitude, our imaginary role of being policemen of the world, adopt glasnost, our fortunes will not change.
Bhupendra M. Gandhi
By email
