Foreign aid agency in £450m scandal pulls out of future contracts
STOP THE FOREIGN AID MADNESS
A DISCREDITED foreign aid consultancy given almost half a billion pounds of taxpayers’ cash will win no more contracts unless it stops profiteering, it was revealed yesterday.
The Daily Express highlighted the vast contracts awarded to Adam Smith International as part of our Stop The Foreign Aid Madness crusade.
Despite the agency being widely criticised for its business practices, the Government had 21 “live contracts” with the consultancy in countries including Somalia, Nepal and Sierra Leone.
But the Department for International Development has now admitted that, after “appalling misconduct”, ASI has voluntarily withdrawn from trying to secure further deals.
Appalling
A Government source said: “We are closely monitoring the steps being taken by ASI to restore confidence in their ability to adhere to the high standards of integrity that the public rightly expect of all our contractors.
“DfID has been clear that ASI must review the way they conduct their business and work with government in light of the appalling misconduct that has taken place.
“DfID has been monitoring the steps ASI has taken and continues to take.”
Allegations that ASI falsified submissions to the International Development Committee and used improperly obtained DfID documents for commercial gain came to light in December 2016.
The source said that DfID “has not signed any new contracts or extended any existing contracts” with ASI since then. They added: “Any future bids from ASI would be considered on a case by case basis, in full compliance with the procurement regulations.”
The aid consultancy received more than £462million in taxpayers’ cash over five years.
Figures show that Government spending with ASI rose steadily from £63.4million in 2012/13 to £89.3million a year after. It rose to a high of £112.3 million in 2015/16 and in the last financing year it fell to £103million.
A DfID spokesman confirmed that ASI has pulled out of the bidding process for new contracts after four of its top executives quit over its operations.
They also stressed that the department has “announced tough new reforms to clamp down on the risk of profiteering, excessive charges and unethical practices”.
The Express is demanding the Government reallocate some of the £13.3billion foreign aid budget to our underfunded health CRUSADE service, social care system and elderly services. It is now a legal requirement for the Government to spend 0.7 per cent of our gross national income on foreign aid.
Britain’s donation is the second largest in the world behind the US, which contributes the equivalent of just 0.18 per cent of GDP.
In 2015 the top five recipients of UK aid were Pakistan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Syria.
Abuse
But millions are still being given to major economic powerhouses such as China and India.
John O’Connell, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “The UK is still borrowing tens of billions every year and yet we send billions abroad with little accountability.
“We hear all the time that the NHS needs more money and that there are no savings left to make, but we still see widespread abuse of the system through health tourists not paying for their care.
“The Government should scrap the 0.7 per cent spending target and be more open about where our money is going.”