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May 12th, 2013 
Peter Nolan
The issue will add to growing concerns over spending on overseas aid. Only
last week, the Government was accused of failing to enshrine in law a
commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on international
development because of fears it could prompt a rebellion by some backbench
Conservative MPs.
Miss Greening used a conference on Africa to make her announcement, causing
diplomatic tensions with the government of Jacob Zuma, the South African
president.
At the time she said: “South Africa has made enormous progress over the past
two decades, to the extent that it is now the region’s economic powerhouse
and Britain’s biggest trading partner in Africa.
“I have agreed with my South African counterparts that South Africa is now in
a position to fund its own development.
“It is right that our relationship changes to one of mutual cooperation
and trade, one that is focused on delivering benefits for the people of
Britain and South Africa as well as for Africa as a whole.”
A statement issued by her department, headlined “UK to end direct financial
support to South Africa” discussed the bilateral aid programme, but gave no
figures for the regional aid programme.
Britain gives aid via multilateral and “global” programmes, which together
amount to further tens of millions of pounds.
The DfID’s “South Africa’s Operational Plan 2011-2015”, available to the
public on the internet, shows that, over the period, the country’s regional
aid – which there are currently no plans to cut – is at £256 million more
than three times the £76 million of direct aid.
Sir Malcolm, a Liberal Democrat MP, said: “I was surprised to find out that
there was another significant programme of aid given to the region. When the
Government announced it was closing bilateral aid to South Africa, it should
have said it was continuing to fund other programmes of aid, and the budget
for that is significantly greater.
“Now that it has been highlighted, we recognise that there is a case for us to
look at this in more detail.”
He also expressed concern that the move had been presented as a cut by using
the word “end”, when in fact the ring-fenced aid budget is being increased
to meet the 0.7 per cent commitment.
The DfID has also confirmed that staff levels at the newly renovated British
High Commission in Pretoria are not due to be cut, and there are “no plans
to close this office”.
Sir Gerald Howarth, the Tory MP and chairman of Conservative Way Forward,
said: “This is taxpayers’ money. This is not largesse by Government
ministers.
“It is our constituents’ money, which we are taking from them and giving
to other countries. There must be complete transparency.”
Miss Greening has already been accused of making the announcement about the
ending of bilateral aid in order to boost the Tories’ chances in the recent
local elections.
The South African finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, said that she directly
linked the announcement with the council elections. In turn, William Hague,
the Foreign Secretary, accused the South African government of “bureaucratic
confusion”.
A spokesman for the international development department said: “A DfID press
notice on April 30 made it clear that DfID will stop direct aid to South
Africa in 2015 while cross-border programmes across Africa, including
regional efforts against HIV/Aids, will continue, so any suggestion that the
public was misled is totally wrong.”
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