Girl bands and ant watchers... where your cash goes
The Mail has led the way in chronicling how British taxpayers’ money has been squandered overseas. Here are some of the most egregious examples of how YOUR money has been frittered away:
1£ 4million to fund Ethiopia’s own Spice Girls. Yegna, a five-strong group, launched a radio show and released a string of videos that aimed to empower women in the African country. 2 £15million on a scheme aimed at reducing the flatulence of Colombian cattle to help combat climate change. 3£
25million on teaming up meteorologists with Kenyan ‘ rainmakers’, who observe the movements of ants to predict the weather. 4Britain
committed £700million to help impoverished children in Pakistan – only for corrupt officials to cream off vast amounts of money by creating thousands of fake teaching jobs then pocketing the salaries. 5£ 3million wasted on sending unwanted helicopters to help out with the aftermath of last year’s Nepal earthquake. 6Last year £3million was given to China – the world’s second largest economy – to increase ‘awareness’ of British football. 7A
£22.5million programme of aid for China included role-play sessions to encourage
young people to think about climate change. 8Channel
4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy was paid £15,000 for just a few hours’ work at a summit in Mexico.
9 Britain gives £72million a year to Palestine, more than a third of which goes straight to the Palestinian Authority, which critics say supports terrorists.
10An aid watchdog found UK money actually fuels corruption in Nigeria – with one scheme increasing the likelihood locals would have to pay backhanders to the police.