UK gives $8m aid to Zimbabwe

  1. Posted on Tuesday 23 June 2009 - 08:20
    Sam Banda Junior
    Image of Sam Banda Junior
    Sam Banda Jnr, AfricaNews reporter in Blantyre,Malawi
    Britain has promised to give Zimbabwe eight million US dollars in aid. The country is in dire need of more funds to uplift its economy. Despite the aid, Britain urged Zimbabwe to improve in its many ways and reform. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged the aid when he met Zimbabwe's PM Tsvangirai.
    Brown
    Tsvangirai has also visited United States of America where President Barrack Obama also pledged support for the country.

    Brown announced four million pounds of food aid and one million pounds for school textbooks, bringing total British "transitional support" for the Zimbabwean government this year to 60 million pounds.

    "We are prepared to go further in offering more transitional support if the reform programme on the ground gains momentum," Brown said.

    The Zimbabwe PM was quoted recently as saying that the southern African country needs about $ 10 billion to rebuild its economy.

    A Reuters report said the extra British money will be channelled through the World Food Programme and charities.

    Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe entered into a government of national unity after months of disagreements.

    The national unity government has been seen by many as the only way for the country to put its economy back in shape.

    Many Zimbabweans have left the country in search for greener pastures and Tsvangirai is reported to have been jeered when he called Zimbabweans living in UK to return back to the country.

    Apart from the economic problem, Zimbabwe has also been affected by the cholera outbreak which has killed about 4,000 people.

Latest News

  1. AFCON: 46 hurt in Zambia victory celebrations09/02Over 40 casualty cases were recorded Wednesday night at Zambia's University Teaching Hospital (UTH) after post-match celebrations turned violent …
  2. African Peer Review Mechanism making progress08/02In 2003 the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the continental development plan, initiated the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM…
  3. Combating HIV infections among African women08/02With a lack of knowledge and power, African women continue to bear the brunt of HIV infections.
  4. Legume cultivation booms in Western Kenya07/02Small Holder Farmers (SHFs) who traditionally relied on seed companies for all their seeds are now bulking their own legume seeds for their farms.
  5. Malawi vendors chase out Chinese07/02Vendors in Kalonga, the Northern district of Malawi, on Wednesday petitioned the District Commissioner to flash out all Chinese nationals who are doin…
  6. Zim: Informal sector urged to join HIV battle05/02While the Harare City council is busy engaging in running battles with city vendors, Health Minister has called for authorities to devise ways to form…
  7. Elections: Wole Soyinka warns Mugabe, Wade03/02The Nigerian Nobel Prize winner for literature said heads of states who are trying to cling to power suffer the same fate as the dictators who were sw…
  8. AU elections rescheduled for June in Malawi01/02Following a deadlock during Monday's African Union elections, with a tie between former wife to South African president Jacob Zuma, Home Affairs …
  9. Senegal in turmoil as protest intensifies01/02Hundreds of anti-government protesters Tuesday gathered in the central Dakar, Senegal to show their dissatisfaction over the incumbent president Abdou…
  10. Zimbabwe’s inflation still favourable -…01/02Zimbabwe's annual headline inflation still compared favourably with economies in the region, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said o…
  11. AFCON 2012: Sudan qualifies after four decades31/01The Sudanese national team has sealed a historic win over the Stallions of Burkina Faso.
  12. Senegalese opposition to intensify protests31/01Opposition and civil society groups in Senegal have vowed to increase their fight against incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade's presidential bid.
  13. Malawi: Rights coalition condemn stripping of…30/01The 39 members of the Solidarity for African Women's Rights Coalition based in 18 African countries have vehemently condemned the stripping of wo…
  14. Kenya to deworm five million children annually30/01Kenya launched the second phase of its national deworming programme at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012, aiming to treat 5 million childre…
  15. Benin’s Yayi Boni is AU’s new…30/01President Yayi Boni of Benin Republic has been elected chairperson of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa
News archive