By
Desmond Davies, GNA London Bureau Chief
London, Jan. 8, GNA
– The British government has rejected suggestions that it has been providing
aid to corrupt regimes that fail to account for the funding.
The Department for
International Development (DFID) said: “It is not the case that giving aid to a
country with high levels of corruption is the same as giving aid to that
country’s government.”
DFID was responding
to the latest British newspaper story criticising the UK government’s
commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of its GDP each year on foreign aid, as
recommended by the UN.
This became law in
2015, making the UK just one of a handful of developed countries that are
meeting the UN target.
Only Sweden (1.01
per cent), Luxembourg (one per cent), Norway (0.99 per cent) and Denmark (0.72
per cent) give more in foreign aid as a percentage of GDP than the UK.
Last year, UK
government budgeted £14 billion for international aid, equivalent to 0.7 per
cent of the country’s GDP.
A DFID spokesman
said: “UK aid only goes to trusted partners to help those living in extreme
poverty, not directly to the governments of the most corrupt countries.
“DFID has strict
measures in place to protect [UK] taxpayers’ money, including regular audits
and fraud assessments.
“Our approach to
international development is just one example of how the government is
protecting and promoting our national security and global influence.”
DFID said UK aid was
“saving lives in countries such as South Sudan, Somalia and Yemen that are home
to some of the poorest people in the world”.
The DFID statement
added: “We have always been clear that by working in the most fragile and
dangerous parts of the world, UK aid makes this country safe by tackling
problems which would otherwise arrive on our doorstep.
“DFID has strict
processes in place to ensure UK aid is not misspent or diverted.
“These include due
diligence assessments of partners, fraud risk assessments, risk monitoring
during projects – such as monitoring visits and financial spot checks – and
regular independent project audits.
“We also have a
counter-fraud and whistleblowing unit with dedicated resource assigned to
investigating misappropriation of funds,” DFID said.
GNA
