£10m in Irish (+others) foreign aid to Uganda ended up in PM's aides bank accounts
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...PMs-aides.html
£10 million in aid to Uganda ended up in bank accounts of PM's aides
Millions of pounds given as aid to fund development work in Uganda has reportedly been siphoned off into the private bank accounts of aides to the country’s prime minister.
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Originally Posted by Telegraph
Some 12 million euros (£10 million) was given by Ireland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden but the Irish government has since been told by Ugandan auditors that the sum has gone “missing.”
The money had been intended for a “peace recovery and development programme” in the north of the country, which has seen decades of conflict and destruction.
No British money was included in the missing fund, but Whitehall officials said that as a precaution they had suspended British aid payments of £4 million-a-year to prime minister Patrick Amama Mbabazi’s office.
A Department for International Development spokesman said: “We take these allegations extremely seriously and have already suspended UK aid to the Office of the Ugandan Prime Minister.
“We have set up an independent audit to investigate alleged fraud.”
Eamon Gi lmore, the Irish foreign minister described the apparent theft as ‘intolerable’, the Daily Mail reported.
Mr Mbabazi is said to have apologised to Ireland.
He said: “I didn’t even know. No money was ever paid to me and I never handle money.
“As the prime minister I don’t handle money of government at all, ever.”
He said not all the money was misappropriated but that some had been merely “irregularly managed.”
However, two senior officials have already been charged, one of whom is the chief accountant, he said.
Some 17 members of staff have meanwhile been suspended without pay while an inquiry is carried out.
The UK Government has previously come under pressure to cut aid spending to Uganda after the country was implicated in fighting in the Congo by a UN report earlier this month.
Well blow me down, the tip of the iceberg.
The real irony here is that bankrupt Ireland (who we bailed out, when we are nearly bust ourselves) is still giving aid out. Absolutely and utterly absurd, as things in this world increasingly are. But there you have it. I have to say, I loved this delicious quote;
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He said not all the money was misappropriated but that some had been merely “irregularly managed.”
It reminds me of the Little Britain sketch where the politician comes out of his house with his wife, and says that he 'slipped' into the man in the public toilets. All aid ought to be stopped, this is just one of the many arguments against it.
Our Prime Minister, his Government and the Labour 'Opposition' on the other hand plan to increase our foreign aid to £11bn a year.
Thoughts?
