Its clear DfiD isnt working. With a budget of £13.4 billion, there are few stories of success, but a litany of let downs.
£5 million to an Ethiopian girl band
Roads in China
Luxury hotels in Mozambique and, just now
Millions lost on a failed farming project in the Congo that was actually displacing locals
these just a sprinkling of the countless failures of DfiD, yet we continue to throw money into it like a sacrificial worship to a greedy god.
Not only does a huge amount of this money get spent of wages, over half is outsourced to agencies not under government control.
In addition , a recent report (The New Humanitarium) details
– bribery payments by suppliers of up to 30%
– aid workers bribed to hide corruption
– corrupt practices have undermined health efforts (e.g. Ebola crisis)
– sexual exploitation by aid workers
– reporting mechanisms for such crimes still don’t work
– widespread failure to sanction individuals for corruption
– breakdown in trust between all parties due to corruption
The budget for Dfid, astoundingly is nearly a third of that allocated to all of the UK Defence budget.
The Armed Forces have the capability, resources and wherewithal to carry out these functions.
At a stroke,
– aid would get through with a robust back up
– corruption and sexual misdemeanours would cease
– any malpractice would be dealt with by military courts
– more aid would be spent as salaries are already covered by the military personnel in place
– UK presence would be more visible than the anonymous companies for profit that currently (fail to) deliver this service.
– Ill informed ideas (e.g. girl band) would be discarded from the start
– good for Armed forces to use their logistical skills
And lastly, whilst this may be unpopular with politicians, many of whom have a connected vested interest in the firms currently associated with DfiD, it would be hugely popular with the British public whom, on the last survey, 65% said it was a waste of money. And don’t politicians work for the public?
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