Too much of YOUR money is simply stolen or squandered

THE aid budget isn’t my money, or the Government’s money. It’s taxpayers’ money – your money. We politicians have a duty to spend it well, in ways that not only help the world’s poorest, but also help us here at home.

When people see aid being used properly, they support it. The British people are incredibly generous – just look at our response to Comic Relief or the support that has been given to the Disasters Emergency Committee over the years.

The people of Britain have helped to halve global deaths from malaria in just 15 years – saving six million lives. And I’ve seen for myself the incredible impact of the UK’s support for Syrian refugees and the fight against Ebola.

And at its best, the global aid system does fantastic, life- saving work – for example through the global funds that deliver vaccines for children and that fight deadly diseases like AIDS and tuberculosis.

These are successes, of which we can all be proud. And these achievements also make us safer. Disasters, conflicts and diseases don’t pay attention to national borders. We need to act before problems grow and threaten the UK.

But we need to face facts. Too much aid doesn’t find its way through to those who really need it. And too often, money is spent without a proper focus on results and outcomes that allow the poorest to stand on their own two feet. Some participants in the aid debate are resistant to criticism and sometimes unwilling to understand or even acknowledge genuine concerns.

It rightly infuriates taxpayers when money that is intended for the world’s poorest people is stolen or wasted on inappropriate projects. I am infuriated. My predecessors worked hard to make sure that British aid ends up where it should. But we can improve. And Britain – with its strong reputation on aid around the world – is in a unique position to ensure that across the globe, aid is being used effectively, in a way that delivers for our national interests.

The system needs reform – and Britain can lead the way in delivering it.

I believe passionately in the mission of the department that I now run: to end extreme poverty forever, to spread prosperity, and, as a result, to build a safer world for us here in the UK. That is a long-term goal that Britain and its expertise can work towards and one that we can be proud of. My parents came to this country as refugees from sub-Saharan Africa. I have had the privilege of working in business across Africa and Asia.

And I have seen with my own eyes the burning injustice and tragic waste of human potential that poverty, disease and war bring. Let us be clear: if we allow extreme poverty, instability and humanitarian crises to go unchecked, the consequences will eventually be felt just as deeply back in Britain as they are abroad. Britain has a proud record as a global leader and, following the referendum result, we have an opportunity to further build on our place in the world.

As Secretary of State for International Development, my objective will be to challenge and change the global aid system so that it properly serves the poorest people in the world and the taxpayers who foot the bill.

I will ask the tough questions and provide a fresh pair of eyes. My approach will be built on some core Conservative principles: that the way to end poverty is wealth creation, not aid dependency; that wealth is ultimately created by people, not by the state; that poor countries need more investment and trade, not less; and that we need to empower the poorest to work and trade their way out of poverty, not treat them as passive recipients of our support. My predecessors in government have made huge progress in improving British aid – creating an independent aid watchdog to scrutinise spending, introducing much tougher value for money controls, and making DfID’s spending far more open and transparent. Now I want to build on their achievements and go even further, for example by insisting on much greater transparency from those who receive UK aid, so that we can all see whether money is actually making it through to those who need it.

I want to continue the leadership that has been shown on tackling the scourge of corruption, which keeps people poor. I want to build on the great work that has been done on things like immunisation, tackling killer diseases, and ending the scandal of human trafficking and modern slavery. And I want to use our aid budget to directly address the great global challenges that affect the UK – like creating jobs in poorer countries so as to reduce the pressure for mass migration to Europe.

BUTI don’t see my new job as just about aid. I want to help build the UK’s trading partners of tomorrow. We must seize the opportunity of leaving the EU to expand free trade with those who need it most, to boost investment in the poorest countries, and to forge new alliances with the world’s emerging economies. And of course, I want to use our greater freedom from leaving the EU to deliver better value for UK taxpayers.

We will honour the commitments that we have made on development in our manifesto. But let me be clear. A well-financed aid budget is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Its purpose is not to make us feel good about ourselves. It is there to deliver tangible results for the world’s poorest people, helping them stand on their own two feet so they don’t need aid in the future – and in so doing, build a safer, more prosperous world for the UK. The purpose of everyone working in the aid business should be to do themselves out of a job – by building a world free from extreme poverty.