Britain is STILL giving aid to Brazil

December 29th, 2011

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Millions handed over in development aid in recent years
Money still going to ‘operational’ projects in the Latin American powerhouse

By
Steve Doughty

Last updated at 12:34 AM on 29th December 2011

Taxpayers are funding aid to Brazil even though it has become richer than Britain, Whitehall officials admitted yesterday.

Millions has been handed over in development aid in recent years despite the rapid rise of Brazil to the top rank of world economies.

And money is still going to the Latin American powerhouse in the week it was revealed to have overtaken Britain in the world’s economic league table.

Good times: Brazil, famous for its carnival in Rio de Janeiro (pictured), overtook Britain in the world's economic league table

Good times: Brazil, famous for its carnival in Rio de Janeiro (pictured), overtook Britain in the world’s economic league table

The continuing aid to Brazil comes against a background of deepening criticism of the Coalition’s foreign aid plans and its determination to keep raising spending on development in supposedly poor countries.

David Cameron and his ministers are pledged to raise aid spending, currently worth £9billion a year and 0.57 per cent of national income, to 0.7 per cent. Aid spending went up by £1.24billion in the last financial year alone.

Yet money continues to be poured into wealthy and fast-growing countries such as India, and even aid to China, second in the world economic league, was ordered to come to an end only this year.

Much of the money which does go to genuinely poor countries is said by some analysts to be soaked up in corruption or pointless projects.

World economic league

Brazil was this week listed as sixth in the world economic league table by the Centre for Economics and Business Research. The City think tank found that the country’s economy will produce more than $2.5trillion this year, pushing ahead of UK economic product, which will be just under the $2.5trillion mark.

According to figures on the website of the Department For International Development, £13.6million worth of taxpayer-funded development schemes for Brazil remain ‘operational’.

They include a scheme to work up environmental projects billed at almost £9million, another to ‘improve flexibility, agility and responsiveness in the implementation of DFID regional objectives’ worth more than £1.2million, and unidentified schemes costing more than £2.4million.

DFID officials said yesterday that the spending was ‘historic’ and included projects dating from the 1990s, and that they were listed as remaining in operation only because of ‘an IT error’.

But they acknowledged that taxpayers’ money is still going in aid to Brazil, in the form of a £730,000 ‘large emerging economies programme’ to ‘develop a shared agenda and promote global poverty reduction objectives.’ This project, DFID said, is to be wound down ‘at the earliest opportunity’.

Tory MP Douglas Carswell said the figures showed the ministry was ‘not about helping economies to grow’. He added: ‘Aid spending is more about the commitment of DFID officials to expanding their own budgets than helping economic growth.

Powerhouse: Brazil has been listed as sixth in the world economic league table by the Centre for Economics and Business Research

‘If we really wanted to help economic growth in poor countries we would do it through free trade and cutting tariffs.’

Robert Oxley, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘The international aid budget is full of too many contradictions like this. Why should British taxpayers fund aid programmes in an economy bigger than our own?’

‘DFID should cut its subsidies to countries who don’t need it and focus on helping the world’s poorest. It’s no surprise that the Brazil has leapfrogged the UK’s economy when ours is still tied down by red tape and plagued by interfering politicians.’

In March, ministers announced the end of development aid to 16 countries considered no longer to need it. They included China, Russia, Vietnam, Serbia and Iraq – but Brazil was not mentioned.

A DFID spokesman said: ‘These are old projects in Brazil, most of which date back to the 1990s.’

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

Newest
Oldest
Best rated
Worst rated

Why ????

– nickster, warwick, 29/12/2011 05:45

We give aid to a country that has a potential nuclear arsenal, it’s own space program, more millionaires and billionaires than the rest of the world and whose citizens have stashed more money in Swiss accounts than the rest of the world combined – India
– John Smith, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, 28/12/2011 18:02
Where do you get your information from?
There are about 1210 billionaires in the world. 412 are American, 55 are Indiant. Accepted figures for millionaires worldwide is 10 million, with 2.8 million from the US and 127,000 from India.

– Jeff, Boulder, CO, USA, 29/12/2011 05:39

STOP paying aid to all these country’s, give the money to our old and sick……

– Denise Woodward, Shanghai China, 29/12/2011 05:30

It can’t possibly be as simple as it appears on the surface, there must be, even with the bunch of idiots we have in power, some tactical reason why we’re giving aid to a nation wealthier than us. If that isn’t so, then this country needs a revolution.

– Shyamini, London, UK, 29/12/2011 05:20

I notice they mentioned brazil, also how about a mention for the millions we give in aid to number 10 on that list as well.

– wayne, london, 29/12/2011 05:15

And….Brazil just agreed to ban all Falkland’s flagged ships from their ports, restricting the freedom of those (British) people and making their economic livelihood even more difficult. Britain needs to get a grip and stop embarrassing itself and countries that receive aid from Britain. Giving aid to countries like India that has an active space program and chooses not to spend its wealth on its people is thoroughly assinine.

– Robert, Baltimore ISA, 29/12/2011 05:05

are the brazil one of the latin american countries blockadeing the falkland islands true blue brit

– arthur, brisbane australia, 29/12/2011 05:01

Not only the laughing stock of the world, but the world’s biggest suckers. This goverment is absolutely mental and should be locked up in order to protect the population.

– Richard Clarke (ex-pat), South Carolina. USA., 29/12/2011 04:59

if we stopped giving aid, we could probably jump two places on that table

– me, here, there and everywhere, 29/12/2011 04:58

Cameron and ALL tories have to look important and affluent.whether the country is broke or not.Giveing money away to rich countries does that for them.
China,India Brazil, could buy Britain out.But Cameron still pays them billions in aid.It’s a Tory thing.They are a joke realy. What a mess.What a joke this bunch of clowns are.When are they goig to throw the towel in,they are not fit to govern.After 19months they are just a embarasment.The phrase used in Australia towards the UK government is,BASKET CASE.

– Jim Lamb, Queensland Australia, 29/12/2011 04:45

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.