UK taxpayers will be sending around £25million to Somalia over the next five years as part of the Government’s “Green Urban Growth” initiative.
It comes as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is making cuts to public services in the UK in order to plug what she claims is the £22billion black hole left by the last government.
This cost-cutting exercise includes axing winter fuel payments for more than 10 million pensioners this winter.
GB News reports: Pensions Minister Torsten Bell explained how the UK Government “has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control,” but many pensioners are not buying it.
Earlier this week, GB News went to Stanford-le-Hope in Essex, where OAPs slammed Keir Starmer’s decision to axe Winter Fuel Payments.
Dave Walker, 74, said: “It’s terrible. They’ve done so much wrong since they came in but this has been the worst. People are freezing in their own homes. I voted Labour at the last election but honestly, I wish I hadn’t. I wish I voted for Reform but that’s just my opinion. The whole country is knackered.”
Against this tough economic backdrop at home, the Government has awarded a contract for the “delivery of a Green Urban Growth (GUG) programme” in Somalia.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) awarded the contract to DT Global International Development UK LTD last month.
The contract, which is due to run until 31 July 2030, will see £25million worth of taxpayer money going to the crime-ridden country as part of the Government’s green initiative.
The programme aims to support Somalia cities to “become more inclusive and resilient to cope with rapid urbanisation and climate change”, according to the Government’s website, and will help “harness green growth opportunities that contribute to poverty reduction and build longer-term resilience for Somalia’s Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and the urban poor”.
In addition to the £25million, the contract has an extension option of 24 months and allows for an increase in value of up to an additional £25million which may include funding from other donors to support collaboration and partnerships on urban development.
The revelation has sparked an outcry this week after it was widely social media, with users accusing the Government of “woke waste” as Britons face increasingly difficult economic conditions.
One user on X asked: “How can we afford this when our elderly have no heating and every road is falling apart?”