Britain says aid to Ghana not cut

The United Kingdom (UK) government says it has not cut aid to Ghana and even plans to raise it to £100 million by 2015, a statement from the British High Commission in Accra says.

The statement which is a rejoinder following a story published in the British press last weekend with a number of media outlets in Ghana including ghanabusinessnews.com cited a story by UK’s Daily Mail dated October 8, 2011 reporting that the British government has threatened to cut aid to Ghana if the country continues to persecute gays.

“We wish to state that the original reporting in the UK media contained a number of factual errors, including that UK aid to Ghana had been cut. This is not the case. In 2010, total UK aid to Ghana was £85 million, £36 million of which was provided as general budget support (that is, unearmarked financial aid going directly to the government budget). A further £23 million was provided in budget support specifically to the health and education sectors. Total UK aid to Ghana is planned to rise to £100 million by 2015,” the statement said.

As part of UK’s commitment to uphold human rights and international obligations, the statement said “We are committed to combating violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGB&T) people in all circumstances.”

Below is the full text of the rejoinder unedited

Human Rights and UK Aid to Ghana

Following a story printed in the British press last weekend, a number of media outlets in Ghana have suggested that the UK is cutting or threatening to cut aid to Ghana and other African countries with poor records on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGB&T) rights.

We wish to state that the original reporting in the UK media contained a number of factual errors, including that UK aid to Ghana had been cut. This is not the case.

In 2010, total UK aid to Ghana was £85 million, £36 million of which was provided as general budget support (that is, unearmarked financial aid going directly to the government budget). A further £23 million was provided in budget support specifically to the health and education sectors. Total UK aid to Ghana is planned to rise to £100 million by 2015.

The UK government provides aid directly to partner governments when we are satisfied that they share our commitments to: reduce poverty; respect human rights and other international obligations; improve public financial management; promote good governance and transparency, and fight corruption. We regularly review the performance of governments in these areas and take action when we have concerns. As part of our commitment to uphold human rights and international obligations, we are committed to combating violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGB&T) people in all circumstances.

In the case of Ghana, following statements in the press attributed to the Western Regional Minister, DFID Minister Stephen O’Brien did raise the UK’s concerns with government counterparts during his visit to Ghana in July.

In Malawi, the UK decided to suspend general budget support in July 2011, after the Government of Malawi repeatedly failed to address UK concerns over a broad range of economic management and governance issues. These issues included concerns about human rights, including minority rights. Again, the UK has not cut its aid budget to Malawi, but continues to support programmes in Malawi that protect poor people and deliver basic services like health and education.

By Ekow Quandzie