Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Trade NOT Aid
Africa needs trade not aid. The proof is this quote from this article:
Over the last 50 years, sub-Saharan Africa has received more than $1 trillion in aid, or more than $5,000 dollars in today's terms for every man, woman and child on the continent. And yet today many African countries are poorer than they were 50 years ago.
At the time of independence, many African states had a higher per capita income than much of Southeast Asia. Today, however, more than 300 million Africans are living on less than a dollar a day, while South Korea, to take one example, which was much poorer than many African countries around the time of their independence, is now 37 times richer.
Yet the seemingly endless flow of aid continues while we hear tales of donor fatigue. But it is Africans who are actually suffering from donation fatigue.
Experience has shown that aid on its own does not achieve the intended good and can cause harm. In many cases it has simply fed the greed of corrupt leaders. The proposed wholesale cancellation of debt could result in sweeping away good practices in countries struggling to achieve independence and rewarding leaders of failed or failing states who have never aspired to it.
Over the last 50 years, sub-Saharan Africa has received more than $1 trillion in aid, or more than $5,000 dollars in today's terms for every man, woman and child on the continent. And yet today many African countries are poorer than they were 50 years ago.
At the time of independence, many African states had a higher per capita income than much of Southeast Asia. Today, however, more than 300 million Africans are living on less than a dollar a day, while South Korea, to take one example, which was much poorer than many African countries around the time of their independence, is now 37 times richer.
Yet the seemingly endless flow of aid continues while we hear tales of donor fatigue. But it is Africans who are actually suffering from donation fatigue.
Experience has shown that aid on its own does not achieve the intended good and can cause harm. In many cases it has simply fed the greed of corrupt leaders. The proposed wholesale cancellation of debt could result in sweeping away good practices in countries struggling to achieve independence and rewarding leaders of failed or failing states who have never aspired to it.
