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Spending targets are such a good idea, aren’t they?

Britain is “dumping” billions of pounds in overseas aid money into obscure World Bank trust funds in an apparent attempt to meet the country’s controversial annual target, The Times can reveal.

21 thoughts on “Spending targets are such a good idea, aren’t they?”

  1. So Much For Subtlety

    I find it hard to believe they can’t find worthy Third World projects to spend this money on. I mean, I get dozens of offers from Nigerians every week – every single one of which is likely to do more with the money to alleviate poverty than the World Bank.

    On the other hand, the Ethiopian Spice Girls.

  2. Yes, the Ethiopian Spice Girls who have received £9m of UK taxpayers’ cash to “empower women through music”. Makes me proud to be British.

  3. Thatcher 2 –by allowing theses antics to stand–lets the mask slip and reveals herself as the BluLab, Camoron-sucking, well-off, middle/upper class, CM, London-Bubble bitch she actually is.

  4. Mr Ecks +1 Her level of incompetence as witnessed at the HO is starting to stack up with her as PM. HS2, Hinckley, CCA, Brexit and now Cameron’s vanity debt for the taxpayer. To use a well worn aphorism, They still don’t get it.

  5. Not to mention any country that refuses to take back their illegal migrant nationals should receive no aid. Indeed, there is a case to be made for sanctioning them.

  6. Bloke in North Dorset

    If we have to give money in foreign aid let’s give it straight to the Copenhagen Consensus. At least it evidence based and transparent. We could then probably save as much as we spend by sacking a whole ministry full of civil servants.

  7. ken,

    The government could at least subtract the cost of deportations from the aid budgets to those nations. And do likewise for recovering the cost of NHS health tourists and other costs to public services.

  8. Bloke in North Dorset

    SE,

    So my proposal has the benefit of relieving those bright young things of the tedium of working in a stuffy and stultifying bureaucracy so that they can either:

    Go and work in the private sector and make money which increases GDP and therefore the amount of foreign aid; or

    Work directly in countries that need the help of bright young things.

    Sounds like an all-round win to me.

  9. @ SE
    I did some work for DfID in the early 90s and it had some really bright, sensibly enthusiastic but realistic people who were very conscious of their budget limitations so didn’t waste money like the World Bank or EU-PHARE, let alone EBRD. We only got paid for the hours worked, not for travelling time and no 5-star hotels – reasonably decent rates that were enough for people who rated job satisfaction highly [most of my colleagues were practising Christians or practising Jews] but nowhere near the top-of-the-market rates. And we did a good job, gaining satisfaction of working ourselves out of a job when we had trained bright local youngsters.
    Then Claire Short took over …. I have never worked for DfID since.

  10. So Much For Subtlety

    Mr Ecks – “by allowing theses antics to stand–lets the mask slip and reveals herself as the BluLab, Camoron-sucking, well-off, middle/upper class, CM, London-Bubble bitch she actually is.”

    She has promised no money will be going to Palestinian suicide bombers. Which presumably means our money was going to Palestinian suicide bombers.

    However money is fungible. If she pays for Palestinian schools and hospitals, there is more Swedish money left over to go to suicide bombers.

    She is not so stupid she does not know this. So pretty much what Ecks said.

  11. @ EMFS & Ecks
    Cameron put his money where his mouth was by allocating 0.7% of GDP – so a lot higher %age of his own income to foreign aid. The DfID which has been relatively efficient under Thatcher and Major (I *do* know that) was ill-equipped to carry out that job thanks to Claire Short.
    And you blame Theresa May?!?
    STFU

  12. Camoron sent a higher % of HIS income –HIS fucking income?

    Don’t give a rats arse about who you claim shot John (77) re the bungling. They are ALL fucking bunglers.

    May could stop all this shit easily enough. That she has not–and will not–says everything that need be said.

    STS ( ie Stop Talking Shite)

  13. @ Mr Ecks
    Well, if you don’t understand that UK income tax is progressive you must be living in a tax haven.
    And I suspect Theresa May has more important issues to tackle than your hatred of overseas aid.
    But *you* want her to drop everything to investigate every detail of the overseas aid budget whiuch is less than 2% of government while Barnier is demanding a £50 billion bung to allow us to leave the EU?!?

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