Princess's present for SA

2003-07-12 20:52

Johannesburg - British aid of R150m for South Africa's safety, security and justice cluster will kick in from October, the British High Commission confirmed on Saturday.

The expanded aid had been on the cards for a while, and full details were yet to be finalised, spokesperson Nick Sheppard said.

This was revealed at Johannesburg Prison, which Britain's Princess Anne visited on Saturday as part of her working visit to South Africa.

The Princess Royal has visited a number of not-for-profit organisations - mostly at the institutions where they work, such as at the prison, or medical clinics - in Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho.

The British High Commission, Department for International Development (DFID) and British Council all included the cluster in programmes receiving their support, Sheppard said.

The High Commission alone spent almost R12.5m over three years on anti-narcotics, anti-terrorism, anti-money laundering, recruitment, training and human rights programmes.

But now the DFID is in the process of establishing the new R150m aid programme.

Included in the expanded programme is the secondment of staff from Her Majesty's Prison Service to the Department of Correctional Services - to work in Johannesburg Prison from October - and London's Metropolitan Police Force to the South African Police Service's Alexandra police station.

- SAPA