Malawi - second postscript

Why do I feel that there was a certain inevitability about this report from the Sunday Times:

"OPPOSITION leaders in Malawi have urged Jack McConnell to withdraw his pledge of up to £3m aid. They say that the money could be used to support the lavish lifestyles of the east African country’s ruling elite. Politicians and civic leaders point to the fact that the president is to spend nearly £1m on luxury cars. While 1m of his countrymen face starvation, President Bingu wa Mutharika has ordered three top-of-the-range Mercedes-Benz Maybach sedans for his family at a cost of £850,000.

The disclosure will cause acute embarrassment to McConnell, who visited Malawi last month as part of the build-up to the G8 summit at Gleneagles and is to host a visit to Scotland by Mutharika later this year. "