to put into perspective the G8 deal for debt relief in africa....

[Heathcliffscathy]

the total amount is less than what it will cost to police the summit.

that sounds quite shocking does it really cost £22bn to police the summit???

Now why doesnt that surprise me in the slightist. Im not getting cynical in my old age Im getting realistic!!

I think the rest of the world should refuse to pay their debts to America, and should chuck the monies into a kitty for Africa, wonder what Bush would do?

Noooo, that can't be right.

is that for real?

it's the actual amount being put in by the UK in the next few years which amounts to £50m.

if you look past the billion dollar headlines (this is billions of dollars interest relief on debts that aren't being paid anyway) to what the USA and UK are actually pledging to give (which they can and often do renege on) the numbers are not massive.

I"m not saying it isn't a good thing that something is happening, but equally, it is not what it is coming across as. and for many this is too little too late...

Bit £50million in those countries is a LOT of money Money to set up hospitals (for example) in this country would cost a lot more in £'s than it does in, say, Zambia

And £22billion divided by the 8 countries in the G8 is £275million - but presumambly larger countries with large GDP's will be putting 'more' in the pot (ie America)??

What do you think about this in the Daily Mirror - is there any validity to it? I'm very committed to the principle of ending 3rd world debt - but I don't know what to make of this.

corruption

Yes I know I should read the heavy weights but I don't have time for a quality newspaper when working - just a few minutes to skip through a tabloid over morning coffee

Possibily some validity to it - but they'd have to actually prove the money spent on the planes (etc etc) was actulaly the money which was given to them.

"But if the history of post-colonial Africa has taught us anything, it's that African leaders can be trusted about as far as you can throw their private jets."

Sorry but that makes me very . Africa has around 50 countries, and some of them have leaders, while who may not be 'perfect' (but then are OUR leaders perfect? - how much money did Blair and his friends throw at the war which the PEOPLE didn't want????) are slowly but surely trying to turn their countries around. Many of them were left in tatters after they were forced to figh to become independent, those that became leaders had no experience of Western Democracy as they were previously sidelined by the 'white' countries that owned the countries.- just found themselves 'in the job' so to speak.

I'm sure if we sat down we could EASILY find £20-30 million which our government has 'frittered' away.........and countries - such as Kenya, which have been DEEPLY criticised in the recent past don't even feature in the list of countries that 'could' become elligible for debt relief.

OMG - who IS this Tony Parson - I'm VERY glad I don't generaly read the Mirror.......browsing some of his other 'articles' (more like rants from someone with PMT but hey!),

On the hoodies article

"Many of the young hoods don't think: "Will Dad hit me for what I did?" They think: "I wonder whatever happened to Dad?""

Yes - he does seem like a bit of a twonk doesn't he! And the Daily Mirror is supposed to be a left of centre newspaper.

He's a novelist for his main job. Wrote 'About a Boy' for instance. Perhaps he should stick to fiction!

Just rather - like I said of course there's some substance (somewhere) in what he's saying, of course corruption exists in a lot of these countries (if you ask me it it exists in most countries in the world, except it's called 'money wasting' or similar in rich countries).

the headline numbers look great, but what gordon brown is really giving away is, what it is really costing gordon brown/us, is in the order of tens and at the most $100m or so. which in the scheme of things is what we're spending on policing the G8 summit.