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“WHY DOESN’T IT WORK?”
Jonathan Clayton hangs with the NGO crews in Addis Ababa:
At night, the car parks of trendy bars and fancy restaurants — opened by yuppie Ethiopians returning from abroad with money made in private sectors not allowed at home — are packed with duty-free 4x4 vehicles.
Inside, lively debates take place. Prices, though way beyond ordinary Ethiopians, most of whom live on £60 a year, are cheap even by the standards of the most modest western salary. Through a mix of German, Scandinavian and American accents, terms such as poverty alleviation, projects, capacity building and gender balance, keep recurring.
One issue, though, rarely has a hearing in this politically correct world: why doesn’t it work?
Kenyan coffee farmer Peter Kanans points to an answer:
“Even if they cancel the debt, even if they give our governments aid money, ordinary Africans will not benefit,” he said. “That money will only make the corrupt people richer and Africans international beggars for decades to come.”
Read the whole article. Meanwhile, Hispalibertas identifies a Live 8 that Africa could live without:
1.- General Sani Abacha of Nigeria: $20 billion
2.- President Félix Houphoüet-Boigny of Ivory Coast: $6 billion
3.- General Ibrahim Babangida of Nigeria: $5 billion
4.- President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire: $4 billion
5.- President Mousa Traore of Mali: $2 billion
6.- President Henri Bedie of Ivory Coast: $300 million
7.- President Denis N’guesso of Congo: $200 million
8.- President Omar Bongo of Gabon: $80 million
Which should make Bob Geldof re-think this line:
“Africa is not mired in corruption, it is mired in poverty. Corruption is a by-product of poverty ...”
Exactly wrong, Bob. Sheesh, even Antony Loewenstein can see through this.
The list is but the tip of the iceberg. Every one of the men on Hispaliberta’s list has his own retinue of relatives, hangers-on, generals, colonels, and friends, all of whom are enriched at the expense of their countrymen. It gets worse. Even legitimate, honest projects are often poorly selected: jet airliners, splendid government buildings, and lavish stadiums instead of water treatment and filling potholes.
If Bob Geldof has his way, these same people, their debts cancelled, will line up at the window again. “Thank you, may I have another helping?”
Looks like Bob and Bono are going to have heated words at one point…
Posted by Aging Gamer on 2005 07 04 at 02:22 PM • permalinkDaily Telegraph had a good article explaining that Africa over the last 40 years has received $450 billion in aid. Net result: Africans are now poorer, on average, than they were 40 years ago. Read the whole article here.
Why would anyone steal billions?
I’d stop at 10 million and live quietly after.Posted by Honkie Hammer on 2005 07 04 at 06:17 PM • permalinkH. Hammer, most people would. But these people are world class. Not only do they steal billions of dollars, but they enable the deaths of millions. Those who die are their own countrymen, for God’s sake. Where is their patriotism? Where is their humanity? Their depravity is beyond my remotest comprehension.
Open free trade would give them the chance to develope. Might not be good for jobs in western nations at first. Once they do develope then maybe they can go the way of some asian countries and rise as economic lions. Australia would certainly be worst of if there were no economic tigers?
Maybe that is wishful thinking?! Sounds better than a perpetual paternalistic model of rich nations sponsoring poor ones.
Hmm. Nigeria - former British colony. Then we have:
Congo aka Zaire - Belgian
Mali - French
Ivory Coast - French
Gabon - French
South of France, preferred retirement home of African dictators - FrenchPosted by arrowhead ripper on 2005 07 04 at 10:12 PM • permalink#9
Tarriffs shouldn’t equate to sanctions. So, Mugabe on the WTF is not the idea.Money handed over as aid feeds the hands of the corrupt. Money from trade is more afftective at getting wealth to the average African. A corrupt government could still siphon away the wealth via high taxes on traded goods, which would at least bring them to western standards :-)
Which provides a better outcome - sanctions on communist Cuba or trading with communist China?
The list is but the tip of the iceberg. Every one of the men on Hispaliberta’s list has his own retinue of relatives, hangers-on, generals, colonels, and friends, all of whom are enriched at the expense of their countrymen
Related to this, I read that Saddam had over 60,000 Generals (for perspective, I believe the US army has well under 100). Apparently a lot were illiterate family members who wouldn’t have a hope of making a living in a democracy. No wonder there are a lot of upset Ba’athists out there.
Posted by Art Vandelay on 2005 07 05 at 12:42 AM • permalinkMadison, WTF is “What the fuck” in Internet language.
Honestly I don’t think trade will help at this point, too much of Africa is just too far gone. The situation is extreme, so our actions must be extreme to counter it.
Posted by Aging Gamer on 2005 07 05 at 01:08 AM • permalinkFree trade won’t work, as trade is largely to exclusively controlled by the same rich bastards who have been raping their own nations for years. It’s a major source of income.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2005 07 05 at 01:37 AM • permalink13# WTF, yep the brain didn’t scan that properly, and as a result me & my tonsilitis went off at a tangent.
Holding free trade as bait for reforms might be good against governments. However, for those people who do have farms it does give them the opportunity to increase their wealth. I guessing not all African countries are being run like totalitarian regimes. If they can improve their lives then they can build a push for reforms, as opposed to waiting for the west’s political will to deign to pressure for reforms externally. Mugabe is making state slaves of those who don’t vote for him, so obvious trade is not going to work there.
Actually I’m heartened generally by the coverage of the Live 8 thing. There seems to be a wider scepticism in news reports and commentary about simplistic formulas for Africa (ie debt relief + aid = eternal prosperity).
Still regardless of the solution proposed be it aid, freer trade or debt relief if African countries don’t improve governance then it’ll all be for nought . Hate to sound so paternalistic but I suppose that’s the the downside of coming from a rich western country - all suggestions sound paternalistic.
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I note from Hispalibertas’s list that Ivory Coast has two Presidents, which at least starts to address the issue of wealth distribution.