THE British government’s Department for International Development (DFID) has pledged $120 million towards poverty alleviation assistance to Zimbabwe.
OWN CORRESPONDENT
British Embassy second secretary for politics and projects Michelle Atkinson announced the pledge at a meeting hosted by Women in Politics Support Unit (WIPSU) on Tuesday, saying her government was committed to reducing poverty in the country.
“DFID’s mandate by UK law is to reduce poverty and in 2012, the UK, through DFID, will implement its largest ever development programme in Zimbabwe to the value of $120 million working closely with our development partners who include civil society, government and multilateral institutions,” she said.
“Second, because these issues are Zimbabwe’s problem. They are a problem for all of us, especially in Africa. Because by the time such issues hit a country, it has usually passed the point where it is capable of helping itself. We must not allow ourselves to say that problem is over there, it is not our problem.”
Atkinson added that doing nothing was not just morally unacceptable, but would undermine collective efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and reduce poverty.
