Jacob Rees-Mogg delivered the Daily Express petition to No.10. He did it whilst Sky News was filming outside No.10 He could almost be accused of grandstanding. The petition demanded that the amount of aide be cut.
Whilst we give 0.7% of our GDP away in aide the biggest recipient Get £374m (2015) which in the great scheme of things isn’t a huge amount.
It is difficult to decide how much is too much, or how much is not enough. Surely a better topic for discussion might me to whom is the money given and for what.
Bill Gates (Jnr), was another of the Americans to come across the pond and preach to us, on how we should run our country. He didn’t, to the best of my knowledge use a British idiom, as another American did.
What he had to lecture us on was Foreign Aide. About how we shouldn’t reduce our Foreign aide below the current 0.7% GDP. Strange coming from someone who’s country’s contribution is less than ¼ of ours. Indeed, less than ¼ of the United Nations target.
So, on what basis does Bill Gates have for making such comments.
Would Bill Gates be better trying to convince President Trump to increase America’s contribution to the United Nations target of 0.7%?
You might be surprised to learn that neither the USA, Canada, France, Germany, Italy nor Japan actually gives the UN target of 0.7%
Only Sweden, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark and the UK reached the target in 2014.
UK’s Donations as % of GDP
Comparison of countries’ Donations
Cash amount by Country
Opinions are that the amounts given, may not be as important as how it’s given and to whom. And I’m sure this will open a can of worms of controversy but …
To Whom.
It’s often been said we shouldn’t give foreign aide to countries with their own nuclear industry (arms and / or power). Or to countries with their own Space Program.
Those that share the World’s refugee problems – or help to avoid them.
One might suggest that we ought to consider the countries human rights history as well.
Those countries that still believe they are at war with us.
How it’s given.
The majority of British aide is given as cash.
The problem with cash, is controlling where it goes. It is often suggested that in some countries the ‘Aide’ is miss-directed and goes to corrupt officials.
Some countries, when giving aide, stipulate not only on what the money is spent, but that a percentage of it is spent in the donating country. This would go some way in:-
1 reducing the possibility of corruption
2 bring, some jobs home.
Another question.
Another question that could be levied is; How much ‘Aide’ is given to ‘ease’ trade with those countries.
In other words, using the term instead of bribery.
The Top 20 recipients of British ‘bilateral’ aide in 2015, total 78.7% of that year’s total bilateral aide is:-
| 2015 | |||
| Country |
£ m |
||
| Pakistan | 374 | 8.09% | |
| Ethiopia | 339 | 7.33% | |
| Afghanistan | 300 | 6.49% | |
| Nigeria | 263 | 5.68% | |
| Syria | 258 | 5.58% | |
| Sierra Leone | 218 | 4.71% | |
| South Sudan | 208 | 4.50% | |
| Tanzania | 205 | 4.43% | |
| India | 186 | 4.02% | |
| Bangladesh | 164 | 3.54% | |
| 156 | 3.37% | ||
| Dem. Rep Congo | 143 | 3.09% | |
| Uganda | 123 | 2.67% | |
| Somalia | 122 | 2.64% | |
| Burma | 114 | 2.46% | |
| Rwanda | 101 | 2.19% | |
| Lebanon | 100 | 2.15% | |
| Zimbabwe | 93 | 2.01% | |
| Nepal | 88 | 1.91% | |
| Malawi | 86 | 1.85% | |
| 4,622 | 78.70% | ||
| Source: Statistics for International Development |
| Last updated: 17 November 2016 |
Total UK Foreign aide is over £12bn. The bilateral aide is £4.6bn