Published in The Independent (May 2nd, 2013) When Jacob Zuma, the president of South Africa, decided to give his family house in Nkandla a makeover, he did so […]
Africa
Africa: the myth and the reality
Published in High Life magazine (16th April, 2013) If you think of Africa, what do you see? Perhaps a pitiful picture of a starving girl with flies on […]
Disability / Policy / Politics / Welfare
All we can agree on is that welfare’s in a state
Published in The Independent (April 2nd, 2013) What a strange world we live in. A clutch of Church leaders spent their holiest weekend of the year queuing up to […]
Aid / Technology
Media short-changes the poor with soft-soap aid coverage
Published in The Guardian (17th March, 2013) For several weeks, BBC television seems to have been dominated by build-up to Friday’s Red Nose Day, with worthy dramas and special […]
Aid / Health / Policy / Politics / Social care
Overseas aid: an indefensible ringfence
Published in The Guardian (March 14th, 2013) One of the first rules of opposition is to avoid rash promises that can come back to throttle you in government. […]
Afghanistan / Africa / Aid / Mali / Politics / World
Save lives Mr Cameron, but don’t imagine you need to save Africa
Published in The Independent (February 2nd, 2013) This week, the Prime Minister went to Africa.Struggling to achieve anything at home thanks to the shaky state of her coalition, […]
Africa / Aid / General
Aid groups have blinded Britain to the realities of Africa
Published in The Independent (January 9th, 2013) Recep Erdogan, the astute prime minister of Turkey, is on a tour of Africa. His entourage includes 300 business leaders from […]
Aid / Haiti / World
Disastrous relief for Haiti
Published in The Guardian (December 31st, 2012) Almost three years ago, Haiti was hit by an earthquake that killed an estimated 220,000 people in 35 seconds of unimaginable terror. […]
Aid / Politics
Warped priorities
Published in The Daily Mail (September 27th, 2012) At home, the talk is all about austerity. One half of the Coalition government holds its annual conference amid talk […]