Village water – overseas aid worth paying for
SIR – Having spent the last two weeks in Uganda, I noticed the lack of piped water in rural villages, with no communal standpipe, occasionally a well. Local people, including young children, fetched water in large plastic containers from streams. Villages were also strewn with plastic, there being no rubbish collection.
I abhor waste of aid, but I would strongly support our taxpayers’ money being used to ensure every village in Uganda has running water and a refuse service.
It would not be difficult for an NGO to set up a scheme whereby young people were encouraged to pick up litter in their villages, take it to a collection centre and be paid by weight for their trouble. The aid budget could fund this. This could be part of a vision for Dfid, a country at a time – running water and regular plastic rubbish collection. Sarah Strutt
Ipswich, Suffolk SIR – Tony Blair’s separation of the Department for International Development (DFID) from the Foreign Office in 1997 was incomprehensible.
This created yet another raft of civil servants, with the associated cost and lack of experience.
We have embassies round the globe that know what is going on locally and are able to monitor aid provided. Surely it is time to return DIFD to the Foreign Office. Jonathan Grant-nicholas Brassington, Derbyshire
SIR – The mean salary of CEOS of the top 100 UK charities is £255,000. In the light of recent revelations it is worth asking if remuneration at this level attracts the most suitable candidates.
Having and being seen to have the right leader is the best advertisement for any charity.
Dr Peter Sander
Hythe, Kent