Post by RedFlag32 on Sept 18, 2006 13:14:23 GMT
Chavez to send cheap oil to London
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has agreed with London Mayor Ken
Livingstone to send cheap oil to London in exchange for the capital's
expertise in a range of public services, The Guardian has reported.
Chavez, famous for his left-wing politics and rants against US President
George W. Bush, made the offer in a visit to London's City Hall in May,
and officials in the British capital and Caracas have been working since
then to hash out the details.
Livingstone, a left-wing member of the Labour Party dubbed "Red Ken",
confirmed the agreement was in the making to The Guardian, adding that the
finer details were still yet to be agreed upon.
"We have poor people in London. We are the richest city in Europe and yet
we have the disgrace of child poverty," he told Wednesday's edition of the
newspaper.
"They have a vast population living in slums, and we have a lot of
experience in terms of housing policy and all the things we know about how
to take a city and make it function."
According to a memo seen by The Guardian, London would receive an
unspecified amount of oil needed to run the capital's bus network.
London's poor may get a special identity card to give them lower price bus
tickets, to benefit from the lower costs, the memo said.
Caracas, meanwhile, would receive help in running its transport system and
in fighting crime, benefiting from London's experience in the use of video
cameras to monitor public spaces and fingerprint technology.
Livingstone's aides would also promote Venezuela in Britain by
highlighting the benefits of the plan, and providing advertising on buses.
The deal is not the first time Chavez has offered cheap oil to other
countries – in November, he agreed with officials in the American states
of Massachusetts and New York to sell heating oil at below market price
for low income households.
Livingstone to send cheap oil to London in exchange for the capital's
expertise in a range of public services, The Guardian has reported.
Chavez, famous for his left-wing politics and rants against US President
George W. Bush, made the offer in a visit to London's City Hall in May,
and officials in the British capital and Caracas have been working since
then to hash out the details.
Livingstone, a left-wing member of the Labour Party dubbed "Red Ken",
confirmed the agreement was in the making to The Guardian, adding that the
finer details were still yet to be agreed upon.
"We have poor people in London. We are the richest city in Europe and yet
we have the disgrace of child poverty," he told Wednesday's edition of the
newspaper.
"They have a vast population living in slums, and we have a lot of
experience in terms of housing policy and all the things we know about how
to take a city and make it function."
According to a memo seen by The Guardian, London would receive an
unspecified amount of oil needed to run the capital's bus network.
London's poor may get a special identity card to give them lower price bus
tickets, to benefit from the lower costs, the memo said.
Caracas, meanwhile, would receive help in running its transport system and
in fighting crime, benefiting from London's experience in the use of video
cameras to monitor public spaces and fingerprint technology.
Livingstone's aides would also promote Venezuela in Britain by
highlighting the benefits of the plan, and providing advertising on buses.
The deal is not the first time Chavez has offered cheap oil to other
countries – in November, he agreed with officials in the American states
of Massachusetts and New York to sell heating oil at below market price
for low income households.