Jim Murphy MP Labour’s Shadow International Development Secretary, responding to the International Development Committee’s report, The Closure of DFID’s Bilateral Aid Programmes: the case of South Africa, and concerns that DFID decisions are “neither methodical nor transparent, but related to short term political pressures,” said,

“This report shows that Ministers have failed to make strategic decisions about how UK aid is best spent. The result is that South Africa is understandably offended. This was a decision that had little to do with Southern African poverty and much more to do with David Cameron’s clumsy attempts to deal with political problems at home.

“UK aid is vital and it saves lives, that’s why it has to be spent wisely. It shouldn’t be used as a political football by a weak PM looking for a way to placate his unruly backbenchers the day before local elections. The problems and pressures in South Africa are more important than that.”

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