This is comforting, isn't it?

MPs overseeing the DfID have said that it must step up the propaganda efforts:

MPs have denied accusations that a lot of foreign aid cash is "wasted" and have said that the government should do more to publicise its good work.

We're really not sure that will work all that well:

"The media has a responsibility to be accurate and contextual given its role in influencing public understanding and opinion," it added.

The committee urged the department to "continue improving its communications and to be more proactive in publicising when it is doing good work".

The newspapers should report tractor production statistics, not actually bother to question whether we need more tractors or not. And that worked so well when it was tried, didn't it? 

Presumably this means we shouldn't go around questioning the £50 million or whatever spent on the Ethiopian version of the Spice Girls.

Still, this is comforting:

The report said "poor or wasteful spending" appeared to be no more of a problem for the department for international development than it was for other parts of Whitehall.

Or perhaps not so comforting. You mean every department is spending on the local equivalent of the Spice Girls? We're supposed to be comforted by the idea that HMRC has a version of Yegna?