This archive report was first published on 10 July 2020.
Published on July 10, 2020, a House of Lords committee has slammed the UK government for its lack of a coherent strategy for engaging with Africa.
The committee, which focuses on international relations and defense, has criticized the UK government's 'strategic approach' launched in 2018, stating that it does not live up to its name and is merely a collection of broad ideas with little clarity on how to put them into action.
The committee is calling on the UK government to develop a new approach to the countries of Africa and regional institutions such as the African Union, based on 'genuine partnership', including supporting reform of the UN Security Council to give African nations a voice 'commensurate with their size and importance'.
The report also highlights the need for improved visa policies, stating that the UK's current policies are 'arbitrary, expensive, time-consuming and humiliating' and have damaged the UK's reputation in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The committee urges the Home Office to urgently review how visa policy is operating for people from Africa who wish to come to the UK, and for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Trade to participate in the review to ensure diplomatic and trade and investment priorities are properly considered.
Furthermore, the report identifies remittances as an important part of the economic relationship between the UK and the region, and urges fuller engagement with the diaspora by UK policymakers.
However, the committee finds that a lack of competition in the money transfer market means people sending money to African countries often face exorbitant fees, with average fees for sending money to Sub-Saharan Africa from the UK being as high as 9.4% in 2018.
The report also expresses regret over the Government's decision to merge the Department for International Development into the FCO and says the Government should provide urgent assurances that it will continue to spend UK aid in line with the definition of official development assistance agreed by the OECD.
