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From: senaey fethi (senaeyfethi@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Jul 25 2011 - 09:10:39 EDT
UK
aid cash helped African dictator buy himself a £30m jet
By Ian
Drury
10th June 2011
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2002319/UK-aid-cash-helped-African-dictator-buy-30m-jet.html?printingPage=true
British aid money was used by an African
dictator to buy a £30million jet, it emerged last night.
Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni bought the
top-of-the-range Gulfstream G550 private plane in the same year ministers gave
his poverty- ravaged country £70million.
During the same period Uganda also received
around £57million from the UK through the European Union.
The autocratic 67-year-old leader – currently
facing criticism for launching a violent crackdown against protesters demanding
an Egyptian-style uprising – received the cash under the Labour government in
2008-09.
Mr Museveni, who fought an election with
posters depicting him as Rambo, bought the new 562mph plane while millions of
civilians struggled to feed themselves.
The Gulfstream G550 can carry 18 passengers
in comfort and has been dubbed the ‘world’s most versatile and stylish
ultra-long-range jet’.
The revelation highlights the controversy of
hard-pressed British families being asked to fork out higher taxes to pay for
spurious aid projects.
The EU has been criticised by auditors for
failing to measure the impact of the handouts, with much of the money lining
the pockets of corrupt regimes.
The Government has carried out a sweeping
review of how aid money is distributed and spent. In future, funding will be
targeted on sectors, such as health and education.
But International Development Secretary
Andrew Mitchell is facing a backlash for expressing his desire to make the UK a
‘development superpower’.
Ministers are increasing aid spending by 34
per cent to £12billion at a time of austerity at home and Prime Minister David
Cameron will again defend the policy at an event on Monday.
Last night Lord Ashcroft, the Tory peer who
uncovered the use of public money to buy the jet, said it was vital that the
review tightened up the rules on how developing nations spent aid money.
He said: ‘The UK needs to be very careful
before giving budgetary support to avoid extravagance such as this. It is
simply a joke. We must make sure these things do not happen again as they
appeared to happen too easily under Labour.’
Chris Heaton-Harris, a Tory MP and former
MEP, said: ‘Government-to-government aid without proper checks just does not
work. We need to be absolutely sure that every penny of UK taxpayers’ money
given in aid alleviates poverty and provides good value.’
President Museveni was involved in the war
that deposed brutal tyrant Idi Amin in 1979 and has led Uganda since 1986.
But recently the ex-guerilla fighter has been
dogged by charges of corruption.
In 2005, health charities suspended some
grants to Uganda, citing alleged financial mismanagement and last year the EU
cut budget support to Uganda amid serious fears the regime was pocketing funds.
His presidential election victory in 2006 was
condemned after the arrest on treason and rape charges of his main rival, Dr
Kizza Besigye.
And in April, Mr Museveni’s military police
attacked protesters amid growing unrest sparked by rising food and fuel prices.
A source close to Mr Mitchell said: ‘This
issue dates back to the previous Labour government, who simply weren’t tough
enough on waste and inefficiency.
‘There has been an overhaul of the aid programme
since then.’
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