Aid despot gives £30m to Arsenal
RWANDA has spent millions on a sponsorship deal with a Premier League football club despite receiving large sums in British aid.
The tiny African republic is paying £30million to sponsor Arsenal, one of the world’s richest clubs.
The ‘obscene’ deal comes even though Rwanda and its Arsenal-supporting despotic leader Paul Kagame received £64million this year from the British Government.
And last year, the Scottish Government also donated almost £8.8million to fund seven projects in the country.
Last night there were calls for International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt to review aid to Rwanda. Tory MPs said it was ‘sickening’ the regime could be so profligate when it happily accepted British taxpayer handouts.
Under the deal, Arsenal will promote the African country’s tourist industry on players’ shirts.
Rwanda was torn apart by war in the 1990s but has since tried to build up its tourist industry. Many people visit the tiny country to see gorillas in the wild.
The sponsorship deal will also give keen Gunners fan Kagame and his aides the use of an exclusive hospitality box at the London club’s Emirates Stadium, matchday tickets and access to star players for promotional work.
Nigel Evans, Tory member of the Commons international development select committee, said: ‘This is a perversion of priorities by the Rwandan ruler – taking with one hand from ordinary taxpayers and giving millions to one of the richest football clubs in the world.
‘I hope Penny Mordaunt will take a proper look at aid to Rwanda.’
Last year, the UK gave £27 million directly to the Rwandan government for poverty relief and spent a further £37million on aid projects in the country.
But despite the vast amounts of cash being given by the UK and other countries, hospitals, schools, businesses and homes in Rwanda are without electricity much of the time. Most people survive on less than £1 a day.
Kagame has been accused of murdering opponents and of funding ‘prestige’ projects.
The message ‘Visit Rwanda’ will be emblazoned on Arsenal players’ sleeves and on pitch-side screens, at an annual cost of £10 million for three years.
London-based Rwandan human rights campaigner Rene Mugenzi said: ‘Britain should stop giving money to Rwanda because it just frees up their government to spend money on crazy things like this.’
A DfID spokesman said: ‘All UK aid to Rwanda is earmarked for specific programmes, such as education and agriculture.
‘We track results to ensure value for money for UK taxpayers.’
An Arsenal spokesman said: ‘We believe that it is a partnership that will help Rwanda meet their tourism goals while developing football in the country.’