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Britons think African aid a giant waste
EFL; you all know the context.A huge majority of Britons believes that pumping billions of pounds into Africa would be a waste of money, a verdict that is a major blow to Tony Blair's crusade to rescue the continent. Ya think? As the Prime Minister prepares to fly to Washington on Monday to try to secure American support for proposals to tackle poverty in the Third World, a poll for The Daily Telegraph shows that 83 per cent of people are not confident that money given by the West would be spent wisely. Gee, I wonder why. It also shows that 79 per cent of voters believe that corruption and incompetence were to blame for Africa's problems. Common sense, it appears, isn't dead. According to Treasury sources, a new law, ratifying the UN convention against corruption, will be implemented under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in the autumn. It will give the Government power to seize the assets of corrupt former politicians from overseas in a similar manner to the power that already exists when dealing with suspected terrorists and organised crime. Good idea -- except for the "UN" part. Posted by: someone 2005-06-04 |
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