Getting overseas aid to where it is most needed

Isabel Allende, novelist, Rose Tremain, author,

Joanna Cassidy, actress, Sammy McIlroy, former footballer and manager Edward Furlong, actor, Donna Air, TV presenter I WOULD like to add my voice to the general ‘chorus of disapproval’ of the wastefulness implicit in both the use of a target for foreign aid and in the way that the money is spent.

At face value there is nothing wrong with setting targets but it is generally acknowledged that in practice the ill-considered pursuit of targets can and does have unintended consequences.

We saw it in the various misselling scandals of recent years and in the case of foreign aid we see it in poor management of aid spending, ie money being spent not on the basis of need but rather to meet what has been described as an artificial target.

Moreover it is no secret that significant amounts of these payments go to some countries which have booming economies and some which have governments which David Cameron famously described as ‘fantastically corrupt.’

It is no use complaining about something unless at the same time suggestions are made which could play a part in addressing the problem.

Also, on the basis of my strong belief that in some cases (and aid is one of them) the private sector can make better use of resources than government, I would make two suggestions.

The first is that aid should be channelled through charities such as Oxfam and the second, with the old adage in mind of teaching a man to fish rather than giving him a fish, support those business agencies which are able to provide the resources to assist recipients of aid in order that they may create wealth in their own economies.

An example of how this might work in practice could be by using the aid budget to build hospitals, schools etc using local labour and skills. The bills would be paid out of the aid budget which would be under the designated agency’s control rather than that of local officials. An added benefit of this strategy could well be to slow down the rate of northward migration.

Giving aid is a humanitarian and worthy response to those in need; the amounts involved are such that it is also a huge political issue. It is all very complex and there are no easy answers but in such a situation it is often easier to see the wood for the trees by working to keep matters simple. This could be done (a) by scrapping the foreign aid budget, (b) by focusing on need and (c) remembering the old proverb ‘charity begins at home.’ DURING our daily walk, my wife and I sadly noticed that the whale bones on the A62 Huddersfield Road, Liversedge had been removed.

To those locals who know and perhaps care, they have been a familiar and mysterious landmark. My wife can recall their presence all of her 72years when she regularly visited her aunt, who lived virtually opposite them.

Perhaps someone may be able to enlighten us upon their origins?

Let’s hope they really are to be fittingly retained in the new development!