To say I shook my head in disbelief when I read this article in the Herald would be an understatement.
A couple of quotes from Humza Yousaf, the first Scottish minister to hold a foreign portfolio:
"The aim should be, when independence comes, hopefully if it does come in 2014 - we would essentially go from having a budget as we have now of £9 million, modest, to a budget of hundreds of millions."
If there is a Yes vote in 2014, he says, a future SNP government would aim not only to hit the UN target of dedicating 0.7% of gross national income to aid, but go beyond that, possibly to 1%.
According to the article, the SNP is also 'actively considering' cancellation of third world debt.
The SNP, at its last parliamentary conference, passed a motion not only to ensure they met the 0.7% UN spending target, but that they will look to go to 1%.
It's all well and good to want to help the poorest in the world but the best way to do that is by education - not by throwing money at governments which use it for their own purposes.
Many days I see a level of deprivation in this country which makes me wonder about our care of the elderly. Too many are living on pensions which are utterly inadequate for a reasonable standard of living in today's Scotland, yet 'out of sight out of mind' suffices in political circles. Many of these people are too proud to ask for help and don't claim the benefits to which they're entitled and who can blame them when the process is degrading.
Mr Yousaf speaks about building hospitals and schools when my 'local' hospital, Perth Royal Infirmary, is cutting services and will not even provide an A & E service at weekends very shortly. Some people will be required, in an emergency, to travel for a couple of hours to Dundee for treatment. We can't fund our own hospitals well enough to provide a 24 service.
Indeed, he speaks about other European countries which do hit 0.9% and 0.95% but I very much doubt if these countries' hospitals are unable to do a simple scan outside the hours of 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday. So much equipment lies dormant in our hospitals because the mindset is for a 9-5 Monday to Friday service.
Of course Mr Yousaf is speaking hypothetically because his ideas are for an independent Scotland, but I doubt if many voters will be pleased to hear the overseas aid policy is organised, yet we know little or nothing about other policies - security to mention just one.
Another quote from the article:
"Climate justice" – political-speak for wealthy nations taking responsibility for some of the effects of climate change in poorer countries – is something in which Scotland has already taken a global lead, Yousaf says.
Don't get me started on the Scottish Government's 'climate justice fund'. when it's now being realised by so many that global warming is a scam.
I'm beginning to wonder what an independent Scotland would look like and fear that such enthusiasm to be seen as a 'global player' could be detrimental to Scotland's domestic needs.
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