UK announces £5m aid for Zimbabwe

Gordon Brwon n Morgan Tsvangirai British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced an extra £5m ($8m) of transitional aid to Zimbabwe. He was speaking after meeting Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. Mr Brown said the aid would go through aid agencies, not the government in which Mr Tsvangirai shares power with President Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe says it needs $8bn (£4.9bn) to revive the economy but pledges during Mr Tsvangirai's tour of Europe and the US have fallen far short of that sum. Many donors are still wary of sending money which could be misused by Mr Mugabe and his allies. 'Irreversible change' Some £4m ($6.5m) of the new money is to be channelled into food aid and agriculture, with the rest towards buying text books for Zimbabwean schools. Mr Brown said it would bring British transitional aid for Zimbabwe this year to a total of £60m ($98m). At their joint news conference in London, Mr Tsvangirai defended his decision to share power with President Mugabe in February. Mr Tsvangirai said "irreversible change was now taking place in Zimbabwe towards a transition to democracy and elections". He had been expected to ask Mr Brown to lift sanctions against Mr Mugabe and his officials. These include a travel ban and assets freeze. Mr Brown said it was the first time a British and a Zimbabwean prime minister had stood together in Downing Street for 25 years. "I pay tribute today to your courage, your determination, your strength of character and your fortitude in this tragedy," he said. The British premier added: "There are great signs of progress, a budget and economic plan are in place, schools are reopening, children are once again filling the classrooms.