Is Foreign Aid Killing Africa?

The idea of foreign aid killing Africa feels right – it is nice to hear this, for it is a first-glance paradox that makes sense when you consider it. So-called “developed” nations and their pathological influence is Africa’s only problem – it has always been this way from slavery to colonization. Most likely, the fine print on foreign aid comes with many conditions that actually makes everything worse for the people and better off for the corporation that funded the aid to begin with – just like most bills in America that become “law.”

Meanwhile, I think it is naive to believe that the misery in Africa isn’t orchestrated in one way or another. Civil War and genocide serve their purpose while the resources of the Motherland are raped and pillaged. The World Health Organization did mass immunizations during the late 1970′s in the same places where AIDS broke out most prevalently. Now, people are forced into slave labor as the only means by which to get their medication. Africa has become a 500 year experiment in human bondage, population control, and resource extraction – the enslavement and manipulation of an entire continent.

Today, African nations suffer from genocide, starvation, poverty, and disease. Therefore, it sounds “funny” to hear someone talk about African nations investing in bonds and getting their products out into the world market. So, I believe this to be a ridiculous idea. And I would be weary of any western nation’s ideas or plans for “development” – especially any advice coming from the World Bank. Africa has been under “development” for many hundreds of years. Africa needs leadership, empowerment, and inspiration and a reconnection to its culture more than any outdated economic models that help it participate in the global economy. It needs to become self-sufficient and sovereign from foreign influence. The cultures in Africa that have thrived – the ones you don’t hear about – are the communities who have kept themselves off the globalized economic grid.

Otherwise, all this African hardship might be an opportunity to be creative and experimental as well – to try something new. Imagination is the key.

Thanks for the comments, all. I wanted to add what struck me about what Moyo was saying–though I don’t necessarily agree becoming more involved with the world market as the answer–was the underlying notion that everyone needs to take their hands off of Africa. The exploitation goes hand in hand with aid, and only serves to keep corrupt governments in charge (Zimbabwe, anyone?). Moyo even said that humanitarian aid–short-term help for natural disasters and such–didn’t need to be eliminated, but rather the over-arching World Bank funds that are given directly to these oppressive governments.

And I do agree with Moyo’s point that much of the world thinks that Africans can’t take care of themselves, when in reality it is the rest of the world that has destroyed their land, culture, and contributed to the immense suffering many face on a daily basis. As in the Middle East, much of western involvement on the continent has to do with our own interests, not the people’s.

That smug comment about “China’s not-so-impressive-stance on human rights” was quite nauseating coming from a USAian. China has 4 times more total population than the USA, but fewer total people in prison. The USA has more people in prison than any other nation on earth, and most of them are there for trifles and thought-crimes like possession of a harmless plant, a plant the founding fathers grew on their plantations, or for belonging to the wrong ethnic group, or for disrespecting some MegaCorporation’s “intellectual property rights.” The USA even arrests and kidnaps foreign nationals for violating US laws outside of US territory. What next, will the USA start sending people to prison for disrespecting “human chattel property rights” like they did in the 19th century? Alabama already brought back the chain gang, and Wackenhut runs private prisons and farms out prisoner labor for profit. Remember, millions of Tibetans are still around to protest for more independence because over the centuries of occupation, China did not slaughter and exterminate the Tibetan population like the USA did to most of the nations on US territory. Why don’t we hear about, say, the Massachusetts Indians protesting for more independence from the USA? Because over 99% were exterminated, so they aren’t around to protest. The list of contrasts goes on and on, and China comes out looking better over and over again. Is China perfect? Of course not; no nation is perfect. But if you start comparing human rights records and history of attitudes towards African people and other “colored” peoples, China looks much better than the USA, much better than western Europe, and much better than Japan.

Thanks for your thoughtful responses…
Just wanted to reply to a couple of points. Fortuna, aid has not completely stopped to Zimbabwe–in 2007, China loaned Zimbabwe 100 million pounds, and was negotiating a 1 billion dollar loan (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-503694/Cameron-calls-China-stop-providing-aid-Zimbabwe-despot-Mugabe.html). And some blame the 1.6 billion dollars loaned to Zim between 1980 and 2000 (http://web.worldbank.org) for Mugabe’s ability to take total control, with his infamous ‘land reform’ occuring “with British development support” (http://www.reason.com/news/show/117402.html). Although World Bank aid has been halted, it’s hard not to see the connection between Mugabe’s seize of power and the vast amount of funds going directly to their government for years.

Political Analyst–the comment about China was not made with smugness. Trust me, my mother is 100% German, a country that obviously had the worst human rights record of the 20th century. I know very well that the US was founded on the backs of many broken people due to racism, sexism, classism, and the extermination of many natives, and continues to spread its seed throughout the world. But my argument was not that Africans should work with the US or other western countries instead of China, but rather they should have a chance for automony and freedom. The reality that human rights violations are happening to an extent that the Chinese government refuses to discuss the subject with any world body does not bode well for a relationship free of these abuses between China and Africa.
And the crackdown and killing of Tibetan Buddhist monks just last year does not bode well for your statement “China did not slaughter and exterminate the Tibetan population like the USA did to most of the nations on US territory.” The numbers (which we do not know for sure because of China’s control of the media) may not be the same, but the intent was.

Which is why capitalism works.. China treats Africa as a potential growth partner, not as some sad sodden has-been to be saved. The savior complex has wrecked Africa. Instead of developing infrastructure, education etc – ie. teaching a man to fish, money has been spent feeding the man.

Nash!

MUST WE ALWAYS ADHERE AND BASE OUR DEVELOPMENT POLICIES ON WHAT MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS/DONOR COMMUNITIES FORECASTS AS OUR MEASURES OF UNDERTAKING FOR ECONOMIC EMANCIPATION?

Delving into this aura of discussions is actually unleashing a Pandora box of sorts. While many a developing economy grapple with the ever mounting foreign debt, several schools of thought are beginning to emanate as to what would best prescribe medicine to curb this forth with. Whether foreign loans have outlived their usefulness so to say?

- What absorption methods would make a quick fix for any such monies from international loan schemes to have to cause tangible and sound economic achievements
- Whether we really need these loans anyway for much of them are subject to be misused by recipient governments while lenders look on?
- How about the trade not loans undertaking which has worked for well positioned Asian tigers.

In realty substantive arguments would call for a clearing of the air on the subtle effects of the thousands of billions of dollars ever pumped into our economies courtesy of IMF and its likes over the years.

The policy dictates of the solidly backed IMF, World Bank, and other multilateral lenders are such that whatever the situation, it’s only ideal that whichever monies they will advance can create positive economic change irrespective of political will of sitting recipient governments.

Sizable chunks of money are hoarded away in politicians’ private bank accounts. Rather daunting an experience that such is the money that’s approved by legislative bodies for public procurement and other development purposes. Populating the many creative schemes of corruption a case of Uganda are the Ghosts that are a household name and no facet of government ministry has been spared. So lucrative a scheme that has overnightly propelled several from rags to riches.

The situation has not been helped by the newly enacted international money laundering legislation thanks to the war on terror. Only some Governments have realized domestication of the laws while others continue to flout them locally. Needless to say that some mileage could be achieved as misappropriated funds would meet a dead end, for many belligerent thieves can’t risk keeping money under their pillows; but would rather channel it into real estate also avoid wiring it to any inquisitive bank. The only favorable explanation to the haphazardly constructed but often substandard new structures dotting the skylines of cities like Kampala

Unlike the many donor Governments that hire reputable audit firms back home like PWC, Ernst and Young, its not a pre-condition for disbursing loanable funds to recipients, I anticipate this would be a deterrent to errant borrower governments to allow for benchmarks in place tailored for the evil undoing

Political patronage serves to even strangle any right skills deployment to foster fruitful implementation, supervision as well as audit of critical development schemes; cronyism is just a tip on the iceberg on the many deficiencies bedeviling public works that come to the public eye.

To lesser extent it’s not vital a conditionality to have favored relations with recipient Governments that harness Democracy, but somewhat a window dressing form diplomacy takes precedence for multiplicity of donors to the extent of pampering dictators as long as they work for them, rather striking is a tinged tone that gets fronted to the so called pariah states, and the many rogue nations say Zimbabwe who continually unleash a barrage of insults on the “imperialists” as Mugabe likes calling them. Impunity in clear contravention of UN humanitarian aspirations is the order of the day but only gets a nod in some quarters from western capitals. Whatever is the cause of the two faced policy is cause for concern to many of us.

The norm of autocratic regimes is that self evaluation is alien territory devoid of traversing, right from flawed elections always supervised by western powers and waived to be free and fair, to the nascent clampdown on media houses to the ultimate organization of genocides and their likes while the world watches is the order of the day. We should note here that a government that steals elections will steal anything including money and land if given a chance.

We the Africans are positioned to be spectators while our countries waste away and donors pumping sycophants with hefty sums which they use to arm themselves, unleash the wrath of their brutal machinations on those with alternative ideas. All the funds will never benefit us or our kids for they are reimbursed under the guise of hospitality endeavors but ought to be paid at a latter date.

Any feasible endeavors to promote trade are a nemesis of such friction as to warrant a tirade of words. Some of the many failed attempts to come to responsible trade terms will remain an eye sore if not a scar on the faces of the earth. From Doha to any other multilateral arrangements, such is the spirals of lingering trade talks as remnant of the unethical haggling continues to haunt our trade regimes.

The newest trade battleground is EPA; here European and African trade negotiations lie in limbo as haggling drags on. Any signing of EPA agreements will deal a death knell to what remains of the vestiges of Africa’s trade with Europe, opening the flood gates of much feared subsidized products to our markets. Thus would be an uphill battle for Africans to sell to Europe. It’s pivotal therefore for Africa to stick to their guns and throw out this arrangement once and for all.

Home grown media houses seem to be getting a thorough bashing from the usually agile multifaceted international news giants. Their slot to rightly inform the world of an African renaissance has been high jacked. What continues to feature on Africa in many a western media thanks to the likes of CNN is the hunger stricken, AIDS infested and conflict ridden continent, catalyst enough to deter arrival of meaningful investors. In the ensuring battle of the air waves numerous local media houses simply reinvent themselves by running western style programmes to lure back some of their viewer-ship like in sitcoms albeit pressing home grown problems pivotal for development.

In his book Prof .Moyo Dambisa has however muscled in some of the stormiest economic discussions of the decade. The Harvard scholars emphasizes the mopping up of own resources instead of always harnessing donor Dollars flying around. The clearly well mobilized and much valued locally mobilized funds will be put to much use than the readily available easily accessible yet quickly economically destabilizing foreign dollars. People will resort to chasing the Dollars subject to ease of availability but with less absorption capacity for many a business concern leading to wastage.

If we are to look intently at what this entails, much substance ought to be attached to
Necessitating local capital mobilization and then juggling the international and local
Markets to sell our wares. The whole series of events given the operation, will offer tangible results for countless stake holders concentrating on the grass root capacity building as to stimulate a viable tax base and a highly effective local capitalization well oiled machine, its at this point given the acquired fiscal discipline, propel us to the best informed donor money utilization.

So Donor dollars should come in as second or third tier support if we are to realize any meaningful economic emancipation. The breast thumping as to who has splashed more into the debt till relative to the others should stop forthwith, a constructive engagement
Regime to bring down the spiraling yet useless Third world debt instituted. Meanwhile consultations on this matter are bound to continue to iron out modalities.

I see a lot of very well versed rhetoric.

However the world of academia views it, Africa is still a tribalistic and corrupt mass.
Collectively it can not remove it’s self from it’s past and utilise the unbelievable quantities of cash, hardware and expertise that the first world has wasted on this continent

How long must the first world carry this burden concious ……….is it not time for Africa to get off it’s knees and fill it’s own begging bowl